The women gathered herbal plants and
stored them for seasoning or flavoring and for medicinal purposes in
healing.
The knowledge of herbal medicine was not confined to the
women, but generally women seemed to be more familiar with
various herbal potions and brews. In some tribes, a woman -
usually the wife of a medicine man - learned secrets in
healing natural illness with herbs by assisting the medicine
man. In other tribal communities women learned the art of
doctoring with herbs from their mothers and grandmothers. In
general, if a woman inherited the right to become a medicine
woman, her powers still had to be validated by a dream in
which a spirit, in the form of a human, an animal, or
perhaps just a voice, gave her personal knowledge. Women who
had the gift for curing spent considerable time wandering
around the areas surrounding their encampment, gathering
herbs and other natural ingredients to prepare their
medicines. In most Plains tribes, a medicine woman was not
allowed to practice by herself until she reached middle age
and older. The power to heal usually remained with a woman
until her death.
Like her male counterpart, a medicine woman was
considered by early Plains Indians to have a special
connection to the spirit world and that link is what
empowered her to heal. Emotional afflictions required
supernatural remedies to recapture the soul. Generally all
healers called upon the aid of an ally from the spirit world
to guide them in curing illness. Plains Indians believed
that both physical and emotional illness reflect an
imbalance between the natural world and the spirit world. A
healer's task was to restore harmony and balance using
herbs, poultices or spoken formulas.
In some tribes, women who acquired supernatural abilities became
shamans. Shamans were believed to possess the power to influence the
good and evil beings in the spirit world. A woman who wished to become a
shaman usually sought training from an established shaman in her
community. If the old shaman chose her as successor, the younger woman
took over the shaman's position when she passed away. The new shaman
used the songs and the formulas she inherited, as well as her own
creations, to cure disease, predict the future or control the weather.
Plains Indian women gained respect and prestige by practicing medicine
in their communities. The realm of medicine women in the culture of
early Plains Indians was probably one of the women's most powerful
roles.
SOURCE: Rev. Stan Maudlin, OSB, “Wambdi Wicasa” Eagle Man,
American Indian Culture Research Center, Blue Cloud Abbey
www.bluecloud.org
