Land Acknowledgment

The Middle Rio Grande Valley

Albuquerque Herbalism gratefully acknowledges this land as part of the unceded Tiguex province which has been stewarded by the Isleta, Sandia, and Santa Ana Pueblos since time immemorial. We also acknowledge the indigenous sovereignty of the Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache people over the Rio Grande Valley throughout New Mexico. We recognize that the Albuquerque bosque and its surroundings continue to be protected and managed by the ancestral Tiwa- and Keres- speaking pueblos, and that the Albuquerque metro area is home to an indigenous population representing 400 plus nations and tribes. Furthermore, we acknowledge that many of the plants explored through our program are part of this regions’ Indigenous cultural, spiritual and ecological knowledge. We are committed to building and maintaining relationships with the Indigenous peoples of this place and holding ourselves accountable to their sovereignty over this land.

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The Nerve Of It All

Embodied Self-Care for the Nervous System by Asha Canalos A 1543 woodcut by Andreas Vesalius illustrating the human nervous system Ten years ago, in a time of relative personal adversity and general emotional funk, I ran across the following quote, and it sent weird...

The Orientation of Russian Olive

by Jennileen Joseph Russian Olive, Elaeagnus angustifolia This blog post is about orientation. I’m going to talk about who I am, where and who I’m from, and how that particular vantage point factors into all things I do as a plant medicine practitioner. And then I’m...

Herbal Bathing: Maurice Messegue, Master of the Art

by Donna O'Donovan Maurice Messegue, French Herbalist (photo credit) "To know a river you have to know its source.” For Maurice Messegue that source was his father. In his autobiography: Of People & Plants, Maurice describes his father as a cherished wellspring...

The Tagetes Genus: Two Key Herbs in Mexican Herbal History & Tradition

by Atava Garcia SwiecickiMexican and Mexican-American communities have a rich and vibrant history of herbal medicine traditions. Mexico has incredible biodiversity, with ecosystems that include both Pacific and Atlantic coasts, deserts, jungles, plains, valleys, and...

Rocky Mountain Mushrooms: Hawk’s Wing (Sarcodon imbricatus)

Rocky Mountain Mushrooms - Hawk's Wings (Sarcodon imbricatus) by Dr. Marija Helt   With its brown cap layered with dark, protruding scales, this large mushroom does indeed resemble a hawk’s wing. As for the botanical name, sarco is derived from Greek for “flesh”,...

Anthropocene Apothecary

by Dara Saville Native Medicinal Plants That May Proliferate with Disturbance Events: . Recent news cycles have been dominated by stories of climate change including floods, extreme heat, and wildfires. Disturbance events such as large-scale and high-intensity fires...

Bokashi! The Fermentation That Builds Soil

by Donna O'Donovan The Ubiquitous Microbe Lactobacillus: . Cabbage leaves provide good habitat for air borne Lactobacillus. Lactobacillus also stars in a compost method known as bokashi, where food waste and scraps become "pickled" via the bokashi process. And,...

Rocky Mountain Mushrooms: A Lot About Artist’s Conk

Rocky Mountain Mushrooms - A Lot About Artist's Conk by Dr. Marija Helt   Artist’s Conk. People actually do create art on it. More on this momentarily. But first… A conk is a shelf fungus. “Shelf” because the fruiting body (aka. the reproductive bits) sticks...

Oaks: Acorns, Flour, Perspective

by Donna O'Donovan Acorns from Oaks + Making Acorn Flour + Oaks in Perspective The English words for flower and flour come from the old French word flor or flour. This means blossom or the finest thing. Such as a flower can be. The ground flour from wheat, rye,...

On Healing: A Gardener’s Perspective

In the author’s garden, mounds of Wormwood, Bee Balm, Sage and Lavender benefit from peripheral shade and dense plantings; the Pollinators have a buffet of nectars and pollens to choose from.On Healing: A Gardener’s Perspective by Asha Canalos A couple of years ago, I...