Sweet Grass: Wiingash, Hair of Mother Earth, Hierochloe odorata

When the Green Plan went to a Water Conference in Sault Ste. Marie on July 18-21, the theme or the recurring message was always that the youth needed to be taught traditional knowledge, and that the Earth would be better understood and protected if our ways are passed on.

But the #1 question was "How?"

This made me think about how much traditional knowledge I have, and realized its not much. One of the things I always wondered about was sweetgrass and other traditional medicines. When is it appropraite to use? How do you get them? What exactly is each one for? All I had to do was ask one or two people, and I had all of that information.

My coworker Deb showed me how to pick sweetgrass, which I would like to share:

Before you pick a sacred medicine, you need to lay some tobacco and say a prayer of thanks.

 This is what sweetgrass looks like. Its abundant in some spots, but others it will be sparse and harder to see. They seem to like moist, disturbed areas like clay or sandy roadsides where there are other types of wild grasses/cat tails.

 It has a sheen to it, is smooth and thin, and droops over once it gets to a certain height. There is also a purplish colour down near the root, which helps with identification. Also, you can really smell it when you are near sweetgrass:

When you find it, you must pick it one stem at a time, follow the stem down to the ground and try to pull it out at its root

I broke it many times above the root, so the art of yanking it out gently enough so it snaps at the root takes some getting used to.

 The ones that are picked properly have a bit of the root still attached, a small white nub at the end.

After you pick it, you tie a string or a piece of grass around the end of the bundle and hang it to dry for a couple of days. Then you can braid it. If it gets very brittle before you can get a chance to braid it, soak it in some warm water for a few minutes before braiding.

You can propogate sweetgrass by burying pieces of root, as they will grow from a cutting of root. I have also heard of people using seeds. Here is an image of the plant with seeds:

The 3 strands of a braid of sweetgrass represent mind, body, and spirit, and is used to purify our thoughts and carry our prayers to the Creator.