A Taste of Heritage: Crow Indian Recipes and Herbal Medicines

Drawing on the knowledge and wisdom of countless generations of Crow Indian women, the well-known speaker and teacher Alma Hogan Snell presents an indispensable guide to the traditional lore, culinary uses, and healing properties of native foods.

 

A Taste of Heritage imparts the lore of ages along with the traditional Crow philosophy of healing and detailed practical advice for finding and harvesting plants: from the key to creating irresistible dishes of cattails and dandelions, salsify and Juneberries, antelope meat and buffalo hooves, to the secret of using plants to enhance beauty and incite love. Snell describes the age-old practice of turning wildflowers and garden plants into balms and remedies for such ailments and injuries as snakebite, headache, leg cramps, swollen joints, asthma, and sores. She brings to bear not only her lifetime of experience but also the invaluable lessons of her grandmother, the legendary medicine woman Pretty Shield.

 

With life-enhancing recipes for everything from soups, teas, and breads to poultices, aphrodisiacs, and fertility aids, A Taste of Heritage is above all a fascinating cultural document certain to enrich the reader’s relationship with the natural world.

This curious, absorbing volume reads more like a textbook on ancient Crow foodways and less like a traditional cookbook or self-help guide, although it includes tasty recipes for American Indian dishes like Plum Bread and Cornmeal Flapjacks, as well as remedies for snakebite and less dramatic afflictions. The author, the granddaughter of a famed Crow medicine woman, initiates with authority those who may be unfamiliar with various dishes and techniques, patiently explaining that "beaver tail is good tasting, chewy, and rich," and that the dried lungs of a buffalo make for a good jerky-style snack. She recommends cooking a moose all day, preferably in a pit in the ground and suggests that, for the most tender rabbit, only flouring and frying will do. As for the medicinal properties of different herbs, bear root helps with midwifery, and stinging nettles can be brewed into a tea that helps cure allergies. Even if one doesn't have bear root or nettles growing in the yard, this book is a valuable investigation of the variety and utility of nature, bringing ancient Crow traditions to life.