The Indigenous Roots and Reparation Foundation on Wednesday hosted an Indian Hemp field day to teach youngsters about apocynum cannabinum, also known as Indian Hemp. It was and is an important plant to the native tribes of the Northwest.
I tagged along and spoke with a couple of the presenters, as well as IRRF’s founder and Interim Executive Director Mary Big Bull Lewis, about the fascinating plant, how it’s gathered and used by elders like Sylvia Peasley. Peasley, a descendant of Chief Kamiakin, explained how to gather the plant, process it and use it as well as its importance to the tribal peoples who inhabited the region before colonization.
You can watch the video with those interviews above, and learn more about the IRRF and its mission here.
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