GENERAL REMARKS
The subject of our work is Indian Herbalogy of North America, which includes the U. S. A. and Canada, to help us visualize and express the meaning of our Indian Herbalogy— as a study of plants in their economic use.
Herbalogy comes from the Greek— Herba, grass, and Logos, description. Herbalism is the use of medical properties found in non-poisonous plants as used by Herbalists for prevention and correction of diseases and, in general, health tonics. Our conclusions and judgements are governed and limited to the most popular plants. Sufficient material on the total extremely rich medical botanics of North America is not available. There are several ways of using medical plants: Home Medicine, Folk Medicine, Clinical and Homoeopathic. Generally speaking, many of the same plants or their family species grow in other countries: Europe, Asia, Africa. We do not feel that this far-reaching, time-approved knowledge about plant life as a food or medicine is a coincident of mankind’ s accumulated knowledge. Some plants in the past few centuries have gone travelling and in each area, as with our Indians, they are used in a different way other than that of the motherland. This is true concerning the majority, but in each country the poisonous and narcotic properties are well established.
Folk Medicine soon appropriated a symbol of universal natural treatment for those in favour. Then came the Herbalists who classified the uses of their own empirical therapy and gave references systematically. In the middle of the nineteenth century Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopaths, scientifically proved the power of herbal strength. When we speak about this practice of minimum doses, and variety of prescribing, it is not always as simple as thought to be, and we warn the use of caution. The administration of extracts or compounds should be considered either clinical or homoeopathic. Professional diagnosis, as a matter of fact, is only an educated guess, but self diagnosis is even less dependable. Homoeopaths know the power of plants and bio-chemistry, and they use the principle“ similar cures similar”. You must know precisely the symptoms to give the remedy for sicknesses. From the beginning, homoeopaths used over eighty different ingredients. Today there are a few thousand plants and chemicals comprising the practice. Only the well trained in study, knowledge, and experience can use the field in its entirety.
We will not speak of every function or part of the body, or attempt the thousands of medical terms. N. G. Tretchikoff, Herbalist, has taught through his study and experience to find the malfunction of vital concern affecting the bones, nerves, and glands. Treating conclusively the weakest and supporting the remaining through a combination of herbal preparations.
Herbs and their properties are just one of our essentials. A seed’ s purpose by itself would have no life or meaning without the changing atmosphere and the right soil conditions. Herbs as internal medicine also need proper environmental conditions. As individuals we are much more than a conceived seed. Every evolving fact contributes careful spiritual, mental, and physical requirement, one for the endurance of the other. People very often think there exists some medicine— herbal or drug— that alone can cure. This is entirely wrong. We shall see that the Indian Nature Healers considered general health, and carefully weighed all possibilities. Only today in our time of scientific proof does Folk Medicine and Herbalogy have a deeper value than we can realize But with everything we have we can only analyse, but not synthesize( create). We could ask: What is the simplest of the simple things— our cell and blood, or life and death? but what this is no scientist of ours can answer.