"There's nothing happens to a person that can't be cured if you get what it takes to do it. We come out of the earth, and there's something in the earth to cure everything ... I don't fix a tonic until I'm sure what's wrong with a person. I don't make guesses. I have to be sure, because medicine can do bad as well as good, and I don't want to hurt anybody.... Maybe it takes some herbs. Maybe it takes some touching. But most of all, it takes faith"--Vernon Cooper, Lumbee healer. The Lumbee Indian tribe has lived in the coastal plain of North Carolina for centuries, and most Lumbee continue to live in rural areas of Robeson County with access to a number of healing plants and herbs used in the form of teas, poultices, and salves to treat common ailments. The first section of this book describes and documents the numerous plant and herbal remedies that the Lumbee have used for centuries and continue to use today. There are remedies for ailments relating to cancer (external and internal), the circulatory and digestive systems, the heart, hypertension and hypotension, infections and parasitic diseases, asthma, pregnancy, sprains, swellings, and muscle, skeletal and joint disorders, to name just a few. The second portion of this work records the words, recollections and wellness philosophies of living Lumbee elders, healers, and community leaders. The information presented in this book is not intended to be a substitute for the advice or treatment from a physician. The authors do not advocate self-diagnosis or self-medication, and warn that any plant substance may cause an allergic or extremely unhealthy reaction in some people.

Examines the history, culture, and current situation of the Lumbee Indians of the southeastern United States.

Jamestown, the Lost Colony of Roanoke, and Plymouth Rock are central to America's mythic origin stories. Then, we are told, the main characters--the "friendly" Native Americans who met the settlers--disappeared. But the history of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina demands that we tell a different story. As the largest tribe east of the Mississippi and one of the largest in the country, the Lumbees have survived in their original homelands, maintaining a distinct identity as Indians in a biracial South. In this passionately written, sweeping work of history, Malinda Maynor Lowery narrates the Lumbees' extraordinary story as never before. The Lumbees' journey as a people sheds new light on America's defining moments, from the first encounters with Europeans to the present day. How and why did the Lumbees both fight to establish the United States and resist the encroachments of its government? How have they not just survived, but thrived, through Civil War, Jim Crow, the civil rights movement, and the war on drugs, to ultimately establish their own constitutional government in the twenty-first century? Their fight for full federal acknowledgment continues to this day, while the Lumbee people's struggle for justice and self-determination continues to transform our view of the American experience. Readers of this book will never see Native American history the same way.

Herbal and Magical Medicine draws on perspectives from folklore, anthropology, psychology, medicine, and botany to describe the traditional medical beliefs and practices among Native, Anglo- and African Americans in eastern North Carolina and Virginia. In documenting the vitality of such seemingly unusual healing traditions as talking the fire out of burns, wart-curing, blood-stopping, herbal healing, and rootwork, the contributors to this volume demonstrate how the region’s folk medical systems operate in tandem with scientific biomedicine. The authors provide illuminating commentary on the major forms of naturopathic and magico-religious medicine practiced in the United States. Other essays explain the persistence of these traditions in our modern technological society and address the bases of folk medical concepts of illness and treatment and the efficacy of particular pratices. The collection suggests a model for collaborative research on traditional medicine that can be replicated in other parts of the country. An extensive bibliography reveals the scope and variety of research in the field. Contributors. Karen Baldwin, Richard Blaustein, Linda Camino, Edward M. Croom Jr., David Hufford, James W. Kirland, Peter Lichstein, Holly F. Mathews, Robert Sammons, C. W. Sullivan III

The modern techniques of holistic and alternative healing and natural remedies have been alive in the "old ways" of Native American medicine for centuries. This comprehensive guide introduces the Native American concept of healing, which incorporates body, mind, and spirit and stresses the importance of keeping all three in balance. Dr. Anthony Cichoke explains the philosophy behind American Indian healing practices as well as other therapies, such as sweat lodges, used in conjunction with herbs. He examines each herb in an accessible A-to-Z format, explaining its healing properties and varying uses in individual tribes. Finally, he details Native American healing formulas and recipes for treating particular ailments, from hemorrhoids to stress.

Improve your well-being with Native American herbal medicine. Native American herbal medicine offers a powerful way to connect with the earth and heal naturally—and with this handbook of Native American herbs, you can learn all about herb uses and their restorative effects. Written by an Indigenous herbalist, this guide shows you how to responsibly use traditional plants to treat anxiety, colds, inflammation, and more. This standout among books about herbs and healing will help you: Learn about a time-honored practice—Discover the origins of Indigenous peoples' herbalism, its traditional and modern uses, and how tools like the medicine wheel teach us about our relationship with the natural world. Identify the essential herbs—Explore the healing properties of medicinal herbs for wellness, from anise hyssop to yerba santa. Make 75 natural remedies—Ease physical and emotional ailments with remedies like Memory Support Tea, Stress-Induced Headache Tincture, and Antibacterial Healing Herb Liniment. Tap into traditional wisdom today with this Native American herbal medicine book for health and well-being.

The 55,000 members of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina reside primarily in Robeson, Hoke, Cumberland, and Scotland counties. The Lumbee Tribe is the largest tribe in North Carolina. They take their name from the Lumbee River which winds its way through Robeson County. The ancestors of the Lumbee were mainly Cheraw and related Siouan-speaking Indians. One of the favorite activities of the many Lumbee families was sharing stories around the fire at night. More recently, Lumbee storytellers such as Barbara Braveboy Locklear, Barbara Locklear, Mardella Lowry, and Nora Dial-Stanley, carry on this ancient storytelling tradition to a much broader audience. The ancestors of the Lumbee tribe shared many stories with other local tribes such as the Cherokee, Creek, and Catawba. As the Lumbee people shared stories, they found that their sister tribes also told tales about "little wild spirit people", animals, the afterlife, and how our world came to be.