Guest guest Posted November 5, 2005 Report Share Posted November 5, 2005 HEALTH DEFENSE By Native American Nutritionals Tsi-ahga --- The Story The Nez Perce Indians of the Upper Plateau region of the Pacific Northwest were expert observers of animals (one need only look at the history and development of the famous Appaloosa Horse to recognize their special place among livestock breeders and geneticists). In the winter, the Nez Perces observed that the elk, moose and deer often dug down through the snow around stumps or fallen trees and ate the hard fungi that grew on them. These animals, more often than not, quickly recovered from their weakened and ill state and successfully survived the harsh mountain winters. The Nez Perces, believing that the Sky Father and the Earth Mother had given them a gift, made this woody fungus one of their most important medicines and placed it at the center of the Medicine Wheel. In the center of the wheel, Tsi-Ahga became synonymous with the defense and protection provided by the Creator. To honor such a powerful medicine, Tsi-Ahga was added to the pemmican, the staple diet of the Nez Perce. As a consequence, where other tribes suffered bitterly from the diseases the trappers and traders passed on to them, the Nez Perce People did not. In fact, when the Lewis and Clark expedition passed through their territory, and even stayed with them, there was no outbreak of disease consequent to their visit. This is true even in view of the fact that, according to the expedition journal, many of the party suffered from measles just as they were passing through the region. Clark himself was one of the sufferers. What protected the Shahaptian-speaking peoples of the inter-mountain northwest from being ravaged in the same way that the east coast Indians had been upon first encountering the white man's diseases? They tell us that they observed to use the gifts given to them by Sky Father, Earth Mother and the Grandfathers, and that this kept them free of disease - or, if they did get sick, these gifts helped them to recover quickly. My Own Story by Cloudpiler "When I was told that I had only weeks to live and that there was nothing that could be done, you might imagine that I was devastated. My complete confidence had always been in the miracle of modern medicine. But that miracle was not to be available to me. Despairing, I sought advice from a man I had met many years earlier while undertaking a vision quest among my people, the Nez Perce Indians of northeastern Idaho. He told me to take the wood fungus known as "Tsi-Ahga" and keep a piece of it in my mouth at all times. Up to receiving this suggestion, I had been losing copious amounts of blood from the bowel as the disease literally ate me up from the inside. I was dying. So, even though I must admit I had always considered the wood fungi to be at best unsafe and at worst downright poisonous, what did I have to lose? I did what I was told and a miracle happened. Within just a few short weeks the bleeding stopped. Within a year my disease was in complete remission. Now, after over twelve years, the disease that was killing me and had engulfed my entire G.I. tract is almost completely gone. The gift of the Earth Mother has given me back my life. To honor that Sacred Medicine, I give to you this gift also." $39.99 http://www.kathysherbshop.com/shop/product31.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.