How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine and Crafts

Loved it

More technical then how to.

We are Ojibwa of the Chippewa L.C.O. Reservation tribe. Our family is Bear Clan, and this book was purchased as a gift for our favorite Auntie who loves all things traditional, she also loves to get at the root of modern traditions, & natural materials /plants. She has accumulated a lot of knowledge over the years, & is the family go to for information on such matters.We sent the book as a surprise gift. She was very excited when she called not just because of the surprise,** but also because she really likes the book. It has a lot of information in it. Much of which she already knew to be true, along with some new information; ** However you have to take into account the fact that she has been researching, and collecting such information for more than 5 decades, so it's not surprising that she would recognize much of the information. (Still learned a few new facts though!)**Because she DID recognize much of the information to be factual, and yet after 50+ years gained some new information -**We DO strongly recommend this book for all who are curious, or for those who are always on the hunt for more information

This book is sketchy at best. Not nearly enough information to help someone who knows a little something about herbs.

If you are looking for botanical (latin) names listed with common Native American names for plants, this book is good for that. It also has a lot of photos of showing different things made from birch bark. This is more of a catalog of plants than a guide telling how to use them.The text is very technical but lacks on details. For instance, the book would say that a plant was used for food but didn't say how it was prepared (cooked, steamed, pounded, etc.). Likewise, the text mentioned certain plants were used as medicine, but not how they were used (tea, salve, poultice, etc.). It does not have an index or cross-references to help find individual plants, so you have to hunt through the chapters for any information.As a catalog, this book is very good, but is not a useful guide in using wild plants for food or medicine.

I am working with a Master Herbalist who is training me and this is one of several books recommended to me that I have purchased. The art of herbal remedies is a whole new world that is essential for anyone considering or now living off grid. I have gained so much knowledge in such a short time, and I have connected with local dealers that are purchasing bulk products that grow wild on my property. This same review applies to all of the herbal books I have purchased, I don't just recommend one but all of them for your library as a serious or novice herbalist!!!!

Just what I've been looking for. I am an RN & I have always been fascinated by the herbal remedies used by the Native American tribes' medicine men & women. When you look @ the remedies closely, you'll discover the foundation of "modern" medicine - example - the Natives used willow bark in a tea or poultice for pain (even heart pain) - they didn't know the reason it worked is because the bark has the equivalent of aspirin in it! So much to learn of what the ancients knew!

I agree with several reviewers. There is much information here but also a lot more needed. As others have said, if you didn't know what to do with the plant you won't know afterward. But you'll have names so you can research the plants. It also seems to be part of a collection of several volumes. Perhaps if that were mentioned in the description I could be looking for the other volumes. They may contain the much needed information.

Very pleased

Just what my friend wanted.

The book arrived on time and was in perfect shape. I found it to be extremely interesting. The photos of native people doing their traditional activities and crafts and the artifacts they had made during the 1920's were amazing. The herbs they used for medicine with the proper Ojibway names as well as the botanical and common names is wonderful historical information. I noticed the ways they use these plants has changed very little over the past 100 years which tells me that they retained this aspect of their culture in spite of being severely oppressed.

Very interesting reading.

nice