A GIFT FOR YOU FROM THE CEDAR TREE INSTITUTE

RECIPE BOOK

Five Teas, Three Salads, and Four Soups From the Native American Traditions of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community

HEALING THE CIRCLE

The Medicine Wheel Project 2017-2018 is a partnership of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), The Cedar Tree Institute, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation. Designed as a cross-cultural health initiative, this program integrates traditional Ojibway teachings with the most recent evidence-based practices from the fields of mind/body medicine. The project is the first of its kind in the Northern Great Lakes Basin and continues to carry the unanimous endorsement of KBICs Tribal Council.

Twenty KBIC members and 5 tribal Health System staff are participating in 4 workshops and 6 wellness circles over a period of 6 months. Instructions on 4 mind/body practices are being taught to participants. Bi-weekly support sessions are carried out with daily rituals encouraged. The impact of stress-reduction on bio-indicators such as inflammation markers, lipid levels and A1C levels are being monitored by lab tests at the beginning and conclusion of the Project.

Key coordination for the Medicine Wheel Project is provided by Kathy Mayo, Interim Director for KBIC’s Health System along staff member Mindy Lantz, RN and elders from the KBIC Cultural Committee. Wellness Circles (support groups) are organized based on traditional Anishinaabe clan names: Bear, Deer, Crane, Martin, Loon, Fish. Also thanks to Carole La Pointe and Tamara Carroll who helped us in the initial stages of this project’s implementation.

Dr. Michael Grossman, M.D provides key leadership as medical director for the Project. Jon Magnuson, Director of the Cedar Tree Institute, provides oversight for program and Helen Kahn, PhD, Northern Michigan University, is conducting data analysis for the Project. Greg Fricchione, MD and John Denninger, MD from the Benson-Henry Institute of Mind/Body Medicine, (Boston) graciously serve as consultants.

GIFTS FROM THE EARTH

A key component of the Medicine Wheel Project is to integrate good health practices with the wisdom of Anishinaabe (Ojibway) traditional teachings. In the field of mind/body medicine there are three interlinking areas of connection: How one thinks (cognitive perspectives). How one moves (exercise). How one eats.

This recipe book contains instructions for medicinal teas, soups, and salads that are part of traditional life of indigenous (First Nation) peoples of the Northern Great Lakes Basin. Each tea, soup, and salad has been used as part of the Medicine Wheel Project on the L’Anse Reservation, home for the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.