Information Sessions

This site is dedicated to providing valuable resources and information. There are three main sessions.

Session 3 of 3

Our intention in this section was to show that Indigenous culture has not been lost through the residential

school system and other colonial pressures but has instead survived and is thriving.

However, there are a couple of challenges that we have when attempting to discuss these topics.

1) We at Red Road Compass have been taught by our Elders and Knowledge Keepers that medicine teachings and certain

cultural teachings must be done in person and not shared by video. By uniting and coming together in person gives strength

to the medicines and teachings. Therefore, the specific teachings that Red Road Compass provided in their in-person

sessions will not be presented here.

2) As presented in Session #1: Beginning the Journey we identified that the Americas were populated with hundreds of different

and unique Indigenous groups. Unique groups that had their own traditional knowledge, medicine and cultural practices. We

wish to avoid the generalizations that all Indigenous peoples are the same.

3) We would like to draw your attention to several videos regarding Indigenous teachings / medicine. Since these videos have

been posted for the public it is safe to say that the presenters do not have issue with sharing their teaching in this format.

Please be mindful that the following videos highlight specific teachings by specific cultures in specific geographical locations

and do not apply to all Indigenous groups.

Spirit Doctors

This short documentary journeys into the spiritual world of traditional Indigenous medicine, a world inhabited by Dr. Mary

Louie (a spiritual leader of the Syilx or Okanagan Nation), and her husband Ed Louie. With a lifetime of experience in the ways

of spirituality, they are committed to practices that keep them accountable to the spirit world, their people, and Mother Earth

. When one of the crew members get sick while shooting, his subsequent care is recorded for the purposes of this film.

Directed by Marie Burke - 2005 | 40 min

Join local Knowledge Keepers from the community of Pine Creek in the harvesting of medicines such as wihkes,

sweetgrass and sage. As well as balsam and poplar bark or “kidney medicine” Stanford and his family carry a rich history

and knowledge of over 40 plants and medicines. They share about the preliminary and preparatory stages, protocols

associated with the medicines, the seasons, as well as the uses of the medicines in an extensive network of sharing and

trading.

This book describes the traditional Native American uses of more than 200 plants from Northern forests. Over 100 elders

contributed information that they felt should be shared with other communities. Native and non-Native students worked

together to collect plant specimens and record traditional knowledge about the use of plants for medicine, handicrafts,

technology, and ritual practices.

Entries with photographs for each plant are arranged according to plant family and include information on physical

descriptions, habitat, uses for food, technology, medicine, and potential economic use. The book also includes an explanation

of the research approach, a literature review, and an overview of the ecological and cultural background of the area.