Homeward Trust’s Medicine Garden is Grounded in Teaching

Alex Decoteau Park in downtown Edmonton is home to the Homeward Trust medicine garden. Located in the Park’s community garden, amid rows of raised planters containing vegetables and fruit, the medicine garden is on a small, triangular plot.

The garden is used as a hands-on tool to educate front-line workers on traditional herbs and plants, their relationship to Indigenous culture, and their significance in ceremonies and everyday life.

“For many First Nations people in Canada, practicing their traditions includes preserving and maintaining the practice of utilizing indigenous medicinal plants both for ceremony and personal healing,” says Beverly Allard, Senior Indigenous Liaison at Homeward Trust and chief gardener.

This year, Beverly planted sweetgrass, sage and nicotiana tabacum (tobacco). Throughout the growing season, employees and partner agencies spend time in the garden learning about the plants, their uses and their significance in traditional Indigenous practices. This is an ongoing component of Homeward Trust’s focus on Indigenous cultural awareness through experiential learning, which had over 550 workers participate in 14 programs in 2018.

Plants as Medicine

Plants are a crucial component of Indigenous medicine, and more than 500 different plants are used for their healing properties. Here are some plant types and their uses:

Cedar. Used as a vitamin C supplement, in the 1700s, Indigenous people treated Europeans suffering from scurvy with a tea made of white cedar

Dandelion. Cleanses the liver and can be used as an antioxidant.

Mint. Mint leaves contain properties that help remove arterial plaque, a significant cause of hypertension. First Nations have long used mint to make a relaxing and healthy tea.

Nicotiana Tabacum. Considered a sacred medicine, it was used in ceremonies long before contact with Europeans. The plant grown in this garden is not the traditional tobacco plant used in the ceremony; however, it is symbolic within the garden as an offering to the Earth and as an acknowledgment of its critical role within the Indigenous culture.

Sage. White or Buffalo Sage is primarily used in ceremonies and for praying. It creates a cleansing energy, stimulates the immune system, and heals the mind and body.

Sweetgrass. Like sage, sweetgrass cleanses energy but can also be used in a warm bath to help treat shingles, eczema, and other skin conditions.

White Pine. Used for ceremonial medicines, spiritual healing, and protection in conflict, it promotes good energy.