American Indian Healing Arts: Herbs, Rituals, and Remedies for Every Season of Life »

E. Barrie Kavasch is an herbalist, ethnobotanist, mycologist, and food historian of Cherokee, Creek, and Powhatan descent, with Scotch-Irish, English, and German heritage as well. She is the author of two books on Native American foods, Enduring Harvests (1995, Globe Pequot) and Native Harvests (1979, Random House), which was hailed by The New York Times as "the most intelligent and brilliantly researched book on the foods of the American Indians." She has studied with many acclaimed native healers—some of whom contributed to this book—and is a research associate of the Institute for American Indian Studies in Washington, Connecticut. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, and many other publications, and she has been a guest lecturer at the New York Botanical Garden, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Yale Peabody Museum.

Karen Baar has a degree in public health from the Yale University School of Medicine and writes about gardening and health for The New York Times, Self, Good Housekeeping, and Natural Health, among other publications.

American Indian Healing Arts is a magical blend of plant lore, history, and living tradition that draws on a lifetime of study with native healers by herbalist and ethnobotanist E. Barrie Kavasch.

Here are the time-honored tribal rituals performed to promote good health, heal illness, and bring mind and spirit into harmony with nature. Here also are dozens of safe, effective earth remedies—many of which are now being confirmed by modern research.

Each chapter introduces a new stage in the life cycle, from the delightful Navajo First Smile Ceremony (welcoming a new baby) to the Apache Sunrise Ceremony (celebrating puberty) to the Seminole Old People's Dance.

At the heart of the book are more than sixty easy-to-use herbal remedies—including soothing rubs for baby, a yucca face mask for troubled skin, relaxing teas, massage oils, natural insect repellents, and fragrant smudge sticks. There are also guidelines for assembling a basic American Indian medicine chest.