“What a profound gift Russell Willier has given to the world, with the help and support of his friends, colleagues and researchers anthropologist David Young and ethnobotanist and herbalist Robert Dale Rogers! The depth of Mr. Willier’s knowledge and experience about healing plants and their properties is matched only by his kindness and generosity in sharing this knowledge and the strength of the personal bonds lasting over decades that allowed the creation of this book. The book is unique in the partnerships that it reflects, in the compellingly personal way the knowledge is presented, and in the ties of each special featured healing plant to a particular place, habitat, and season: truly place-based knowledge and practice. Balancing the need to safeguard and respect this knowledge with the concerns that the teachings will be lost to younger generations if it is not recorded, this book reveals sacred knowledge yet also cautions us against its misuse. Key to the book is the understanding that medicinal treatments are deeply embedded in our emotional and psychological condition, and that human health and well-being are completely dependent on the health of other species and of the environment as a whole.”
—Nancy Turner, PhD, professor, University of Victoria, and renowned ethnobotanist and leading expert on First Nations use of medicinal plants of the Pacific Northwest
“While the medicinal plants discussed here are generally well known, what is most interesting is the various discussions of why certain plants are useful for certain medical problems. This is a significant contribution to understanding Native American, and particularly Cree, medical knowledge.”
—Daniel Moerman, PhD, professor emeritus, University of Michigan, and renowned medical anthropologist and leading research on Native American ethnobotany
