L’nu student harvests traditional medicine in place of modern practice

This is sweetgrass, it’s a sacred and traditional medicine in some Indigenous cultures. Cole McDonald is a L’nu university student from Miawpukek First Nation who helped with the harvesting ceremony. He says the grass was planted on campus for a few reasons, one being representation.

“This whole project is kind of reminding people that Indigenous people do exist in this community, we do exist in this province,” said McDonald.

The gardens also shows there are medicines people have used since time immemorial with healing properties proven by science. It educates our future healthcare providers about working medicines that are not often used in modern medical practices

Sweetgrass contains a natural blood thinner called coumarin. Coumarin reduces certain types of swelling, and is where the sweet smell comes from. Sweetgrass also has antioxidants that help reduce oxidative stress. Extracts from the grass protect brain and liver cells from ethanol damage. It can be applied topically to treat some aliments and injuries.

Lastly, McDonald said the garden was planted to raise awareness of the injustices and harmful acts by the government and its entities towards Indigenous people.

“In Newfoundland specifically, it’s explicitly stated that there were no Indigenous people on this island,” McDonald said, referring to when the N.L. government falsely denied the existence of Indigenous people in the province when joining Canada in 1949.

The smell of sweetgrass is very unique and hard to describe, said McDonald. The smell isn’t strong like pine, and it has an aromatic smell almost like flowers, he said. The purple colour at the base of the drying grass is what gives off its sweet, almost vanilla like scent, said McDonald. 

The full braid of grass, each section, and each blade has meaning to it. McDonald said in L’nu culture the seven blades of grass in the braids middle section represent the seven sacred teachings. The other two sections of the braid represent the seven generations that came before us, and the seven generations to come after us, he said. 

McDonald said before receiving these teachings he knew more about the uses rather than medicinal properties. He’s a traditional drummer and said his group uses sweetgrass to smudge before performing at gatherings or ceremonies. 

“You are that representation.”

To this day Indigenous groups across Turtle Island are still fighting for their rights. In almost every aspect of life Indigenous people are still struggling because of colonial structures and policies. There are whole communities still living without drinkable water, whose children are battling racism in social services, and are suffering immensely because of unquantifiable injustices.

Everyday steps are taken in the general direction of reconciliation. MUN’s sweetgrass garden is an example of that. McDonald said he hopes to pass on this knowledge he gained to others someday. 

“Even just these very small details that I could pass on to younger students or people that follow me, it would be a really great,” he said. 

McDonald said you have to give yourself some grace as an Indigenous student in post-secondary school. He said there might be times when you walk into a room and realize there is no Indigenous representation present.

“You are that representation. You have to show that indigenous people still exist in this province. We’re not all in these rural communities,” he said. “There are a lot of us that are seeking professional degrees, and a lot of us really want to make a difference.”