KINNICKINNICK:

KINNICKINNICK:

INDIGENOUS Peoples of Turtle Island used it with tobacco and other herbs in religious ceremonies; used as a smudge (type of incense) or smoked in a sacred pipe, it carried the smoker’s prayers to the Great Spirit. When mixed with tobacco, it was referred to as Kinnikinnick, from an Algonquian (probably Delaware) word for “mixture”. The Indigenous also used Bearberry tea to treat inflammation of the urinary tract, urethritis, kidney stones, and cystitis. The Cheyenne used the tea to treat back sprains. Some Indigenous tribes powdered the leaves and applied them to sores. Other tribes drank it to treat venereal diseases. The berries were also made into a tea that was used to ward off obesity. Early European settlers in the Americas used the leaves taken internally as an astringent to treat nephritis, kidney stones and other diseases of the urinary system.