MEDICINE POUCHES
Medicine pouches are used primarily for protection from seen and unseen
things and is worn to enhance the wearers positive attitude and keep
negative things away from ones physical and spirit self. Many of you
already have your charms or good luck pieces that you wear to protect
your self from unwanted negativity that may surround you in every day
life.
In the old days, the medicine pouches, as I choose to call them were
made up of a persons life affects and medicines which may have been
sage, sweet grass, tobacco, cedar, small stones ( Grandfathers ) or
other elements which were considered to be power objects ( power medicines).
Once these medicines were gathered and assembled they were placed in
the pouch and then were taken through a medicine ceremony, which involved
smudging of the objects, thereby cleansing them of any negativity and
providing good clean medicines for the next step of taking the pouch
through a ceremony which may be a fasting, pipe or sweat lodge ceremony.
During this ceremony, prayers and songs are offered and we ask the spirits
to bless the pouch for us. Before, this ceremony takes place, the pouch
is sealed and tied with a piece of 
sinew
or is sewn together to ensure that none of the medicines will not fall
out of the pouch. Once the pouch is sealed forever and is not to be
opened or it will lose its spiritual power.
I make small pouches which are made of moose or deer hide, nothing
fancy or decorated but which does what it is supposed to do. Before
I begin to make the pouch, I smudge myself with sage and tobacco to
ensure that all negativity is washed from me. I then cut the hide in
a circle, which measure about 3 inches in diameter and then punch holes
around the outside edge of the pouch and string a leather lace through
the holes in order to pull the pouch closed and then tie the top with
sinew. There is a lot of preparation in making a pouch as the medicines
have to be gathered from different locations. For example, I pick sage
in August when it ready to harvest, the same with Sweet Grass, tobacco
and cedar. Tobacco and Cedar are easily assessable but all the same
these medicines have to be sought out.
When I gather Cedar for instance, I usually drive far out into the
country side and find a Cedar source near the water. I choose an area
where there isn’t much human traffic and the Cedar appears to
me to be much more healthier. I offer my tobacco to the Cedar tree,
asking for permission to take the cedar leaves for my medicines and
at the same time giving my thanks for the gift that the Cedar tree has
given me. After I finish gathering enough cedar, I take it home and
dry it out which usually takes a little over a week and then I grind
it up into a powder form which takes lots of patience as it is a slow
process to grind up the cedar. One it is ground up, I pour. the cedar
into glass jars, by storing the cedar, I have a ready supply of cedar
to use in ceremonies.
When the sage is ready to pick, I usually spend a full day or more
in gathering this medicine. Sometimes, I have driven over 4 hours to
find a suitable picking area and in the past have driven to the Black
Hills in Dakota to pick the strong medicine sage that grows there. I
pick enough sage to last from year to year and also give away the sage
to others who might need this medicine. This sharing of medicines is
a common thing among our people and if you are getting low on the medicines,
it seems like another person will know and offer you that particular
medicine that you need.
One time when my brother and I went picking sage, we drove to place
where we had harvested this medicine in previous years and I told my
brother that you will hear the sage calling to you. The medicines will
talk to you and ask you to come and pick them, they will say, “
pick me, take me with you”. This happens when you are tuned into
what is around you. The first time voices, it sounded like a child’s
voice as they asked me to take them with me for use in our ceremonies.
Anyway, when we arrived at our destination after a 4 hour drive, we
offered our tobacco, asking permission to pick the sage. As we were
picking my brother came to me with an amazed look on his face and told
me that he was hearing the sage talking to him. When we pick the medicines
we also pray and have good thoughts and sing songs in thanks for being
allowed to harvest these healing medicines.
It is the same when picking sweet grass, you spend the time finding
where it grows or someone shares with you about a good picking area
and harvest this medicine in a good way.
It’s the same when we pick other medicines which will be used
to place into the medicine pouch. Then comes the time and patience of
loading the pouch and taking the pouch through a blessing ceremony.
So, there is considerable time involved when you look at the overall
preparation of making a medicine pouch.
In closing, I would like to say that these medicine pouch’s are
available by sending a 
donation
to cover the time, cost of the hide and the shipping costs. These donations
help my partner and I to live and provides us with the means to sustain
ourselves in order to offer ceremonies and teachings to others. There
is some controversy about receiving money for ceremonies or for selling
personal items but as one Elder that I know and who is well known through
out this continent says, “ I can’t live on tobacco and blankets
in this day and age but have to utilize the system of money in return
for my services”. In many instances, this donation for services
is called an honorarium and as I said provides an income for the people
who help others and thus provides for their own families.
When a traditional person travels to conduct ceremonies or to share
teachings, the travel, accommodation, meals and honorarium expenses
are covered by the persons, organization or agency that is requesting
the service. In some cases, an advance of the expenses is sent to the
traditional person in order for them to get to where the ceremonies
are to be held. This helps the traditional person tremendously as that
person does not have the means nor money to take out of pocket to be
able to get to the requested ceremonies. Sometimes, people have the
means to get to the ceremonies on their and when they arrive at their
destination, the expenses are taken care of by who ever is managing
the event.
For further information about the
pouches, please contact me at 705-942 -0123 or
bearspiritvision@hotmail.com
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