~Basil

By Angie Mangels

Discovering nature’s bounty.

You probably know that dandelion leaves and flowers are edible, but did you realize how many essential nutrients they contain, or that their dried roots can be made into a tea that can help clear the lungs and is also good for cancer patients and diabetes? What about other plants you pass right by when you're out and about? Those rose hips you walked by are high in vitamin C; the leaves and petals of an oxeye daisy can be eaten on a salad; or you can crush up the leaves of yarrow to make a poultice to stop the bleeding of an open wound. It’s amazing how much help the natural world is willing to give us if only we know how to use it. We are so disconnected from this type of knowledge in our modern go-gadget world, but at one time, a lot of these natural remedies were more commonly known and even essential to survival. Lucky for us, there are people out there who still learn this knowledge first-hand from their elders, and are willing to pass it on to others.

Yellowstone Forever’s class, "Native American Plants and Their Uses," is taught by Linda Black Elk, an ethnobotanist and professor at Sitting Bull College. She starts out class by discussing how important family is to her, introduces her husband Luke, and lets us know that her kids will be around and helping out with our class on occasion. Linda then talks about the legacy behind her sons' names, and moves on from there to the role plants have played in her life, how she learned most of her plant knowledge from her grandma, and from stories told by elders. She also stresses to us the importance of being respectful of the plants, informing us that they are sentient beings, and that it’s a tradition to express gratitude for their use.