Indigenous·NewCortney Bear and Margaret Keewatin share their knowledge with others in their communities about finding, preparing and using traditional medicines.’You have to believe in medicines so they work,’ says Margaret KeewatinLouise BigEagle · CBC News · Posted: Nov 17, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 30 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Cortney Bear attended a traditional camp in 2013, where she learned about medicines to use as ways of healing. (Louise BigEagle/CBC)It’s been more than 10 years since Cortney Bear first learned natural medicine teachings at a camp in Manitoba, doing her rites of passage.She was taught which plants are medicines and how to use them in hopes that she would become a teacher herself or a helper.Now she shares her knowledge in Regina on what traditional medicines to use when it comes to menstruation and pregnancy.“With traditional medicines … it’s a natural way to heal,” said Bear. Bear, who is from Little Black Bear First Nation in Saskatchewan, said she offers teaching on how to pick and use medicines like sage, sweetgrass, yarrow, bergamot, hyssop, mint in a respectful manner using protocol.“There are two medicines that I was taught that can help like with the cramping that some women suffer with and one of them is raspberry leaves,” said Bear.Bear said she picks raspberry leaves and yarrow, dries them and then uses them as a tea for moon time. Bear said she used raspberry leaves with mint, as it was shared by her teachers, to help prepare herself for birth, as they found it helps soothe muscles.Bear said she thinks it’s important to show women where to pick and what to pick as medicines, so they learn how to prepare it for themselves and what the properties are. Bear hopes young people have the opportunity to go through their rites of passage. Bear said part of that teaching is why menstruation is called moon time.“The tipiskâwi-pîsim (the moon) watches over the waters and with women, when you think of it, when we give birth, what comes out when we give birth is water, so tipiskâwi-pîsim governs women and the waters,” said Bear. “I want to keep learning from the grandmothers on how important and powerful women are during moon time and to respect our bodies and allow ourselves to rest during that time.”Dried yarrow plant and dried raspberry leaves are used in traditional medicines for menstrual issues like cramps. (Louise BigEagle/CBC)Elder Margaret Keewatin from Okanese First Nation first learned about traditional medicines from her grandparents when she was a girl.The 85-year-old now works as an elder at the White Raven Healing Centre in Fort Qu’Appelle, Sask.Keewatin said years ago during a shaking tent ceremony, the grandfathers told the attendees to go back to the medicines that they were given by the Creator.“We have our own medicines, but you have to believe in medicines so they work,” said Keewatin.Keewatin said she doesn’t pick medicines anymore, but she often is invited along for guidance.“I will tell them to go and dig something and if they don’t know what it is, they ask ‘What is this, Koko?’” said Keewatin.Keewatin said the healing centre has a big room for medicines, where they hang to dry.Keewatin said she knows some traditional medicines but cannot say she knows everything. She knows what to put together for a headache when someone comes to her for help.“I get one of the boys at work to grind and put together what we call Thunderbird sage,” said Keewatin.With that sage, Keewatin said, you roll it into a little ball and burn it and would smudge the smoke over your head.ABOUT THE AUTHORLouise has been a journalist with CBC since September 2022. She is Nakota/Cree from Ocean Man First Nation. She holds a bachelor of fine arts from the University of Regina. Louise can be reached at louise.bigeagle@cbc.ca.
These First Nations women teach people about natural medicines for healing
