by: Zachary Thompson
Our environment is becoming increasingly unfriendly to our health. Toxins from earth, air and even the foods and water we ingest, assault us on a daily basis. We are getting pollution from so many sources that our bodies are finding it hard to eliminate all the toxins. Many of these are heavy metals.
You might be surprised to know the amount of heavy metal toxins that we accumulate in our bodies. Where does it come from? It is found in the air we breathe, water we drink, and the soil that our food is grown in. Once inside our bodies, these heavy metal toxins combine with our cells and prevent the metals that our bodies need from binding with our cells. This in turn will cause far-reaching problems throughout your body. It is also thought to be a factor in some types of autism.
Added to this is the refinement of foods; this will destroy much of the basic nutrition in our foods. The growing methods we use for our food are also factors. Artificial fertilizers and chemicals used in farming are also harming our food nutrition. These factors have led to us eating less nutritious foods. This has led to the deterioration of our health. Our bodies are showing sighs of strain as we succumb to diseases and ailments that were almost unknown to our ancestors.
Because of this situation there is a growing movement to help our bodies get cleansed and detoxified. More products are being discovered and rediscovered to help us in our battle for survival. Many of these products are actually natural products that have been sitting under our noses for centuries. Especially prevalent are a category of nutritional aids known as diet supplements One of the latest supplements is called Natural Cellular Defense. The main ingredient in this product is Zeolite.
What is Zeolite? It is a precious mineral made from the chemical reaction of sea salt and volcanic ash. For many years it has been used as a substance to help with health and wellbeing. Now Zeolite is being promoted as a nutritional supplement to improve your health and vitality.
What does Zeolite do? Zeolite has a honeycombed structure and has negative charges. This will draw in heavy metals into its structure and cleanse the body of these dangerous toxins. The body in turn gets rid of the Zeolite along with all the toxins it has captured. In this way your body can get rid of these heavy metal toxins more easily. This action will help the body to restore its natural pH levels and improve your immune system.
The advantage of Zeolite is that it is completely natural product. Therefore it is non-toxic and should not produce side effects. This makes it safe to take for a longer period. It is the main substance in the nutritional supplement Natural Cellular Defense. This supplement is offered by a company called Waiora, that specialize in helping people maintain their health by detoxification, and natural anti aging products.
Senin, 11 Agustus 2008
High Cholesterol More Likely In Overweight
by: Zinn Jeremiah
Risks of overweight to health are pretty well documented by this point. Many if not most people have heard news about the damage that too much weight can cause to the body's functioning. These warnings typically emphasize damage to internal organs however, and don't spend a great deal of time on how overweight can affect the muscular skeletal region of the body. The fact of the matter is however overweight stress can have a profound and immediate impact on how a person is able to function.
When considering internal bodily functions, one of the major risks in being overweight is the development of high cholesterol. The term high cholesterol is actually a bit vague since cholesterol is fairly wide ranging, and not all cholesterol is harmful. In truth, cholesterol is found in the cells of all tissue and cholesterol is required in the building and development of cells. Without cholesterol in some form, the human body wouldn't function or develop normally. When discussing cholesterol that adversely affects health, the term that's really being referred to is a form of cholesterol found in the blood stream.
Lipids, or fat, in the blood stream are made up of cholesterol to a considerable degree. The process itself is a bit complex and medically specific, but in essence blood cholesterol is transported by proteins, and one of those proteins is called LDL, shorthand for low-density lipoproteins. The term bad cholesterol refers to LDL because of LDL's connection to disease of the arteries. The higher the levels of LDL, the higher the chances for circulatory problems including heart disease and stroke. High levels of LDL then is what's really meant by references to high cholesterol.
High LDL levels can be an inherited trait, but are just as likely if not more likely to be brought about by diet. People who eat foods heavy in saturated fats in particular are more inclined to have high LDL levels than people who consume only moderate or small amounts of saturated fats. Though overweight isn't necessarily from diets high in fat, diets high in fat consumed over time have a good chance of adding extra weight to a person's body frame. Irrespective of whether it's caused specifically by diet or by something else, overweight people typically have LDL levels that are higher than people who aren't overweight.
It's clear why one should be concerned about elevated LDL levels: high levels of LDL are strongly associated with heart disease. This is frequently why routine physical examinations include a blood exam that checks for LDL levels. Any person who is overweight and has high LDL levels will almost certainly be recommended to lose weight. The good news is that weight loss is correlated with lower LDL levels. It's one more way that losing weight improves one's health outlook.
Risks of overweight to health are pretty well documented by this point. Many if not most people have heard news about the damage that too much weight can cause to the body's functioning. These warnings typically emphasize damage to internal organs however, and don't spend a great deal of time on how overweight can affect the muscular skeletal region of the body. The fact of the matter is however overweight stress can have a profound and immediate impact on how a person is able to function.
When considering internal bodily functions, one of the major risks in being overweight is the development of high cholesterol. The term high cholesterol is actually a bit vague since cholesterol is fairly wide ranging, and not all cholesterol is harmful. In truth, cholesterol is found in the cells of all tissue and cholesterol is required in the building and development of cells. Without cholesterol in some form, the human body wouldn't function or develop normally. When discussing cholesterol that adversely affects health, the term that's really being referred to is a form of cholesterol found in the blood stream.
Lipids, or fat, in the blood stream are made up of cholesterol to a considerable degree. The process itself is a bit complex and medically specific, but in essence blood cholesterol is transported by proteins, and one of those proteins is called LDL, shorthand for low-density lipoproteins. The term bad cholesterol refers to LDL because of LDL's connection to disease of the arteries. The higher the levels of LDL, the higher the chances for circulatory problems including heart disease and stroke. High levels of LDL then is what's really meant by references to high cholesterol.
High LDL levels can be an inherited trait, but are just as likely if not more likely to be brought about by diet. People who eat foods heavy in saturated fats in particular are more inclined to have high LDL levels than people who consume only moderate or small amounts of saturated fats. Though overweight isn't necessarily from diets high in fat, diets high in fat consumed over time have a good chance of adding extra weight to a person's body frame. Irrespective of whether it's caused specifically by diet or by something else, overweight people typically have LDL levels that are higher than people who aren't overweight.
It's clear why one should be concerned about elevated LDL levels: high levels of LDL are strongly associated with heart disease. This is frequently why routine physical examinations include a blood exam that checks for LDL levels. Any person who is overweight and has high LDL levels will almost certainly be recommended to lose weight. The good news is that weight loss is correlated with lower LDL levels. It's one more way that losing weight improves one's health outlook.
Problems With Male Infertility
by: Zinn Jeremiah
The act of conceiving a child is something most people likely take for granted. The general presumption about having children is that anyone who's reached a certain age can do so, and that it takes virtually no effort at all. Ironically or not, it's almost certainly true that most of the efforts around procreation are geared towards preventing it from occurring. But though the majority of people who wish to have children can do so, there are any number of people who would like to conceive a child but cannot. This inability to conceive a child is often referred to as infertility.
Contrary to what some males may believe, male infertility can and does occur. Male infertility can be especially difficult for a man to cope with from an emotional perspective as general stereotypes of men as vital and vigorous sexual beings often persist. The inability of a male to produce offspring may be viewed as a failure on the male's part to live up to expectations. The term impotent for example typically refers to males, not females, who are unable to conceive children because of a sexual dysfunction. At its root, the word impotent refers to one who lacks potency, or strength. An impotent man then may literally be considered a man who lacks strength. Most men would likely consider it an insult for someone to refer to them as being weak.
There are various causes of male infertility, but typically male infertility comes down to one of two causes: an inability to perform sexual intercourse, or nonfunctional semen. Though it isn't completely necessary, sexual intercourse is the standard method for conceiving children. When a couple is unable to have sexual intercourse at all then, there's obviously going to be problems with conception. While women can have difficulty with intercourse, they may still be sexually functional. A male who isn't functional sexually will find it highly difficult, if not impossible, to have intercourse under any means.
Males may generally take their ability to produce healthy semen for granted, but the male's ability to produce semen that is capable of fertilization can be compromised. There are any number of ways that a man's semen can lose its capacity to fertilize. Having a vasectomy, a sterilization surgery, would be one obvious way. Physical trauma to the testicles can also damage semen output, as can excessive heat in the area of the testicles. Studies suggest that smoking cigarettes can also damage semen and potentially make a male infertile.
While the reasons for male infertility can and do vary, infertility solutions for both men and women do exist. Infertility is enough of a problem that numerous facilities that solely treat infertility are in place. There are infertile men who don't consider their infertility to be an issue. Those men who are infertile and do consider it a problem have treatment options available, and should seek them out.
The act of conceiving a child is something most people likely take for granted. The general presumption about having children is that anyone who's reached a certain age can do so, and that it takes virtually no effort at all. Ironically or not, it's almost certainly true that most of the efforts around procreation are geared towards preventing it from occurring. But though the majority of people who wish to have children can do so, there are any number of people who would like to conceive a child but cannot. This inability to conceive a child is often referred to as infertility.
Contrary to what some males may believe, male infertility can and does occur. Male infertility can be especially difficult for a man to cope with from an emotional perspective as general stereotypes of men as vital and vigorous sexual beings often persist. The inability of a male to produce offspring may be viewed as a failure on the male's part to live up to expectations. The term impotent for example typically refers to males, not females, who are unable to conceive children because of a sexual dysfunction. At its root, the word impotent refers to one who lacks potency, or strength. An impotent man then may literally be considered a man who lacks strength. Most men would likely consider it an insult for someone to refer to them as being weak.
There are various causes of male infertility, but typically male infertility comes down to one of two causes: an inability to perform sexual intercourse, or nonfunctional semen. Though it isn't completely necessary, sexual intercourse is the standard method for conceiving children. When a couple is unable to have sexual intercourse at all then, there's obviously going to be problems with conception. While women can have difficulty with intercourse, they may still be sexually functional. A male who isn't functional sexually will find it highly difficult, if not impossible, to have intercourse under any means.
Males may generally take their ability to produce healthy semen for granted, but the male's ability to produce semen that is capable of fertilization can be compromised. There are any number of ways that a man's semen can lose its capacity to fertilize. Having a vasectomy, a sterilization surgery, would be one obvious way. Physical trauma to the testicles can also damage semen output, as can excessive heat in the area of the testicles. Studies suggest that smoking cigarettes can also damage semen and potentially make a male infertile.
While the reasons for male infertility can and do vary, infertility solutions for both men and women do exist. Infertility is enough of a problem that numerous facilities that solely treat infertility are in place. There are infertile men who don't consider their infertility to be an issue. Those men who are infertile and do consider it a problem have treatment options available, and should seek them out.
Ways To Cope With Anxiety
by: Zinn Jeremiah
Though it's sometimes referred to as a fleeting condition, the specific term anxiety refers to a lingering condition. It's certainly true that a person can be temporarily anxious about some upcoming event or other, but anxiety can and does persist over an extensive period of time. Anxiety as a chronic disorder in fact is exceptionally common, trailing only depression among persistent psychological problems.
Anxiety is actually a broad term that can potentially describe a series of conditions. There is certainly overlap between anxious conditions in terms of symptoms and even treatment. Essentially, anxiety as a chronic condition involves being in an agitated state. For some anxious conditions, this agitation is situation specific; for other anxious conditions, generalized anxiety in specific, a sense of agitation seems to be nearly constant.
Everyone has felt high levels of agitation at some point in their lives. It's an uncomfortable way of being, to say the least. Considering being agitated for extended periods of time then can give one an indication of how the person with an anxious condition goes through their existence. As a means of avoiding the pain and discomfort chronic anxiety brings, people come up with different means of coping. Self-medication is a common response in a person with an anxious condition. Self-medicating in this way can involve forms of sedation through intaking drugs or alcohol.
A rather common form of self-medicating an anxious condition, or any other emotional disturbance for that matter, is eating. Certain types of foods especially seem to be consumed during anxious states. Sometimes referred to as comfort eating, these foods are often sweet and / or high calorie. The logic behind consuming high sugar, high calorie foods during anxiety or other distress is likely the immediate sense of physical satisfaction these foods provide. The obvious drawback to this form of coping is that these comfort foods, though the may temporarily bring satisfaction, cause bodily damage if consumed on a consistent basis.
Another frequent tactic for anxiety coping is avoidance. In essence, people avoid those situations that cause an anxious response. When the anxiety-causing stimulus is quite common or very broad, however, avoidance as a coping method can become especially problematic, and can alter the way a person goes through life in a dramatic way. The good news is methods for overcoming anxiety, that don't disrupt or damage one's outlook, are readily available. Because anxiety is a quite common condition, effective and safe treatment options are generally not difficult to find.
Though it's sometimes referred to as a fleeting condition, the specific term anxiety refers to a lingering condition. It's certainly true that a person can be temporarily anxious about some upcoming event or other, but anxiety can and does persist over an extensive period of time. Anxiety as a chronic disorder in fact is exceptionally common, trailing only depression among persistent psychological problems.
Anxiety is actually a broad term that can potentially describe a series of conditions. There is certainly overlap between anxious conditions in terms of symptoms and even treatment. Essentially, anxiety as a chronic condition involves being in an agitated state. For some anxious conditions, this agitation is situation specific; for other anxious conditions, generalized anxiety in specific, a sense of agitation seems to be nearly constant.
Everyone has felt high levels of agitation at some point in their lives. It's an uncomfortable way of being, to say the least. Considering being agitated for extended periods of time then can give one an indication of how the person with an anxious condition goes through their existence. As a means of avoiding the pain and discomfort chronic anxiety brings, people come up with different means of coping. Self-medication is a common response in a person with an anxious condition. Self-medicating in this way can involve forms of sedation through intaking drugs or alcohol.
A rather common form of self-medicating an anxious condition, or any other emotional disturbance for that matter, is eating. Certain types of foods especially seem to be consumed during anxious states. Sometimes referred to as comfort eating, these foods are often sweet and / or high calorie. The logic behind consuming high sugar, high calorie foods during anxiety or other distress is likely the immediate sense of physical satisfaction these foods provide. The obvious drawback to this form of coping is that these comfort foods, though the may temporarily bring satisfaction, cause bodily damage if consumed on a consistent basis.
Another frequent tactic for anxiety coping is avoidance. In essence, people avoid those situations that cause an anxious response. When the anxiety-causing stimulus is quite common or very broad, however, avoidance as a coping method can become especially problematic, and can alter the way a person goes through life in a dramatic way. The good news is methods for overcoming anxiety, that don't disrupt or damage one's outlook, are readily available. Because anxiety is a quite common condition, effective and safe treatment options are generally not difficult to find.
Depression Can Sap Physical Energy
by: Zinn Jeremiah
Depression is the most common psychological problem in the US. Estimates vary, but it's generally presumed that twenty percent of US adults are depressed. Though it may not sound like a lot when stated as a percentage, as an actual number twenty percent of the US adult population amounts to tens of millions of people. With numbers that high, it wouldn't be a great stretch to refer to depression as an epidemic.
One of the problems with depression is treatment. The reality of the situation is that depression typically responds quite well to treatment, and that depression is often overcome once treatment is initiated. While it's true that some people don't respond to certain types of depression treatments, odds are that at least one form or another of depression treatment will work for the person who needs it. This is meaningful as there are numerous depression treatments to be had, among them talk counseling and treatment with medications.
The problem with depression treatment is that most people with depression don't get any sort of treatment at all. There are certainly a number of different potential reasons for this, including the stigma that still exists about admitting to being depressed. Another reason for lack of treatment for depression however is likely due to a lack of motivation. People tend to think of depression as completely psychological in nature, but the truth of the matter is that depression also has physical characteristics. People who become depressed can become so listless that physical activity may seem almost overwhelming.
There may be a tendency to label the depressed person as being in some sort of funk or even being temporarily lazy, but the frequency of lethargy within depressed people leaves little doubt that physical inertia is in fact a genuine symptom of depression itself, and not something separate. Acknowledging that a lack of motivation and will is a symptom of depression is one thing, but dealing with the reality of such a state is something else entirely. The person who's depressed and is lacking will and energy can frustrate people who care for them, and can frustrate themselves as well. The thinking seems to go that the person who's feeling depressed should just will him or herself into action, and again, even the depressed person can share in this sort of critical thinking.
Frustrating though it may be, it's important to keep in mind that a lack of energy and physical action is a legitimate symptom of depression. While it's true that lethargy in a depressed person can be tough for all parties involved to cope with, the positive news is that energy often comes back in a person with depression once they've initiated treatment for their depressed state.
Depression is the most common psychological problem in the US. Estimates vary, but it's generally presumed that twenty percent of US adults are depressed. Though it may not sound like a lot when stated as a percentage, as an actual number twenty percent of the US adult population amounts to tens of millions of people. With numbers that high, it wouldn't be a great stretch to refer to depression as an epidemic.
One of the problems with depression is treatment. The reality of the situation is that depression typically responds quite well to treatment, and that depression is often overcome once treatment is initiated. While it's true that some people don't respond to certain types of depression treatments, odds are that at least one form or another of depression treatment will work for the person who needs it. This is meaningful as there are numerous depression treatments to be had, among them talk counseling and treatment with medications.
The problem with depression treatment is that most people with depression don't get any sort of treatment at all. There are certainly a number of different potential reasons for this, including the stigma that still exists about admitting to being depressed. Another reason for lack of treatment for depression however is likely due to a lack of motivation. People tend to think of depression as completely psychological in nature, but the truth of the matter is that depression also has physical characteristics. People who become depressed can become so listless that physical activity may seem almost overwhelming.
There may be a tendency to label the depressed person as being in some sort of funk or even being temporarily lazy, but the frequency of lethargy within depressed people leaves little doubt that physical inertia is in fact a genuine symptom of depression itself, and not something separate. Acknowledging that a lack of motivation and will is a symptom of depression is one thing, but dealing with the reality of such a state is something else entirely. The person who's depressed and is lacking will and energy can frustrate people who care for them, and can frustrate themselves as well. The thinking seems to go that the person who's feeling depressed should just will him or herself into action, and again, even the depressed person can share in this sort of critical thinking.
Frustrating though it may be, it's important to keep in mind that a lack of energy and physical action is a legitimate symptom of depression. While it's true that lethargy in a depressed person can be tough for all parties involved to cope with, the positive news is that energy often comes back in a person with depression once they've initiated treatment for their depressed state.
Overweight Can Lead To High Blood Pressure
by: Zinn Jeremiah
Carrying excess body weight presents any number of risks to one's health. Though it's a debatable point, the greatest risk from being overweight may be the increased likelihood of developing high blood pressure. High blood pressure has earned the nickname "the silent killer" because though it's often asymptomatic, its effects can have a devastating impact on the body.
A number of medical studies have established a correlation between people who are overweight and elevated blood pressure levels. As with anything else, there is variety in terms of how the effects are presented: specifically, the more overweight a person is, the more likely they are to have elevated blood pressure. In addition, an overweight person or a person who's obese has a higher tendency for elevated blood pressure than people who have a normal body weight. Whether a variation or not, the study outcomes provide mostly conclusive evidence that overweight and high blood pressure are linked.
Breaking it down into actual percentages, men who are obese have high blood pressure roughly forty-two percent of the time. Women who are obese have high blood pressure roughly forty percent on the time. While on their face these percentages may not seem outrageous, consider that men and women who aren't obese have high blood pressure only fifteen percent of the time roughly. Carrying too much body weight can then potentially triple the risk of high blood pressure.
The most relevant point is that being overweight is associated with elevated blood pressure, but just how this occurs is worthwhile information. Essentially what happens is people who are overweight tend to have higher blood sugar levels than normal, and their pancreas function produces extra insulin to cope with breaking down sugar in their bloodstream. The increased insulin production adversely affects several bodily functions: increased insulin can lead to blood vessels become thickened and rigid; excess levels of insulin can produce surges of adrenaline, which increases the physical functioning of the heart; and higher insulin levels can trigger the kidneys absorbing excess levels of water and salt.
The typical response to overweight is that it's a problem of appearance: dropping excess weight typically means an increased sense of body satisfaction. While body appearance can be meaningful to people, the risk of overweight is far more than just an issue of how one's reflection appears in a mirror. Overweight and obesity are legitimate threats to an individual's health and life, both from the risk of increased blood pressure as well as from other medical conditions.
Carrying excess body weight presents any number of risks to one's health. Though it's a debatable point, the greatest risk from being overweight may be the increased likelihood of developing high blood pressure. High blood pressure has earned the nickname "the silent killer" because though it's often asymptomatic, its effects can have a devastating impact on the body.
A number of medical studies have established a correlation between people who are overweight and elevated blood pressure levels. As with anything else, there is variety in terms of how the effects are presented: specifically, the more overweight a person is, the more likely they are to have elevated blood pressure. In addition, an overweight person or a person who's obese has a higher tendency for elevated blood pressure than people who have a normal body weight. Whether a variation or not, the study outcomes provide mostly conclusive evidence that overweight and high blood pressure are linked.
Breaking it down into actual percentages, men who are obese have high blood pressure roughly forty-two percent of the time. Women who are obese have high blood pressure roughly forty percent on the time. While on their face these percentages may not seem outrageous, consider that men and women who aren't obese have high blood pressure only fifteen percent of the time roughly. Carrying too much body weight can then potentially triple the risk of high blood pressure.
The most relevant point is that being overweight is associated with elevated blood pressure, but just how this occurs is worthwhile information. Essentially what happens is people who are overweight tend to have higher blood sugar levels than normal, and their pancreas function produces extra insulin to cope with breaking down sugar in their bloodstream. The increased insulin production adversely affects several bodily functions: increased insulin can lead to blood vessels become thickened and rigid; excess levels of insulin can produce surges of adrenaline, which increases the physical functioning of the heart; and higher insulin levels can trigger the kidneys absorbing excess levels of water and salt.
The typical response to overweight is that it's a problem of appearance: dropping excess weight typically means an increased sense of body satisfaction. While body appearance can be meaningful to people, the risk of overweight is far more than just an issue of how one's reflection appears in a mirror. Overweight and obesity are legitimate threats to an individual's health and life, both from the risk of increased blood pressure as well as from other medical conditions.
Research Perspectives On The Patterson Bundle
by: Merry Harrison
The Patterson Bundle is a leather wrapped assemblage of Native American artifacts that was discovered by Bryce and Margaret Patterson in the Book Cliffs of southeastern Utah in the early 1980s. Margaret has reported that she saw a leather strand under a knee - high ledge. She started digging and followed the strand through dirt and many layers of juniper bark until she found a bundle the size of a shopping bag which she took home with her. (Note, it is illegal to remove Native American artifacts from government lands.) After several years and Bryce's passing, she decided to turn it into the BLM in Moab. Carbon dating show the leather wrapping to be between 400-600 years old which predates European contact. Bruce Louthan, field archaeologist for the Moab office of the BLM inventoried it and wrote an article titled "The Patters on Bundle: A Ute Subsistence Kit?" that was published in Canyon Legacy: A Journal of the Dan O'Laurie Museum-Moab, Utah (1990 Fall).
My interest in the Bundle began in 1998 when I spied a small collection of old roots in the display case at the BLM in Moab. As a trained clinical herbalist, skilled in wildcrafting and knowing something of the therapeutic value of certain wild herbs, my heart skipped a beat when I recognized one of the roots to be osha (Ligusticum porteri) a very potent herb that grows between 7,000 and 10,000 feet elevation.
I asked for and got permission from BLM to examine the root bundle more closely. When I arrived for the appointment to examine it, Mr. Louthan presented a carton of artifacts and asked if I would take a look and see if I understood anything about them. I carefully took out one plastic bag after another that contained smaller leather wrapped bundles of roots, stones, feathers, bones, whorls of bark for basketry and more. I did not realize at the time that everything I was seeing along with the other artifacts in the display case (a necklace of seed and bone, a spoon of wood and horn, stone blades, delicate fringe of leather and seed, a strand of deer dew claws, moccasins. etc.) was from this old Native American bundle.
When I finally examined the root bundle from the display case, I thought, "This is not food.". I knew that I wanted to work to identify the other roots. Mr. Louthan was very helpful in offering pertinent articles, photographs and suggestions. A feature article on my research has been published in
HerbalGram, the Journal of the American Botanical Council, issue #55, along with twenty color photographs by Moab resident Jim Blazik. In it I describe my process, method and list an inventory of what I believe the plants to be.
When I began my study, which was supported in part by the Utah Native Plant Society, my intention was to only work to identify the botanical parts. I was stunned to learn that the root bundles were only part of this very rare collection. The thrill of discovery, however, quickly turned into recognition that there may be more to the meaning and of this collection than just some extra stash of supplies. Could there be more "medicine" here than we realize? I started contemplating what all this might have meant to the person or peoples to whom it belonged. Not that I could know, but this line of thinking broadened my perspective from the limited identification of the plant parts to the notion that maybe all this was important in its entirety. Perhaps every item is related to the next, and though we may never know its use, I regarded it all as a potentially rich and revealing representation of a people and culture that we know very little about.
My initial approach of insistency to know changed to that of patient observation. I would lay elements of the bundle before me in my temporary workspace at the BLM and try to pay attention to the larger context. Since I could not find any similar research or collections in museums in surrounding states, I set out to University libraries to read old ethnographic and botanical texts, herbariums to study plants, and I combed through my own extensive library to refine my search for plants that could be found near to where the Bundle was discovered.
I thought that more might be understood about the context of the Bundle if more were known about the rest of the contents. There were several small bundles that contained faunal material, and I got permission to take them to the University of Utah to be identified by Jack Broughton, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology. He was able to determine that among them there were rabbit foot bones from a cottontail, arm and leg bones from a jackrabbit, the tail of a short-eared owl, the skin of a small mammal, the headless body of a native trout and an unidentifiable body part.
I know what it takes to find certain medicinal roots. In the case of osha, I have to go up in the mountains to a particular bioregion with a certain sun exposure in just the right month when the snow has melted to be able to see it in flower so I don't confuse it with several other plants that look very similar but can kill you if ingested. But, just how in the world does one acquire an owl's tail? What use or meaning does it have?
Throughout my solitary journey of discovery which lasted 3 years, I always kept in mind that I was looking at and handling a collection whose use, value, purpose and meaning were unknown. My eventual assessment of the botanical parts was that they were from some of the most potent medicinal plants the area had to offer. They would have been very effective against respiratory and bronchial problems that are common among people who spend their winters in the high, dry desert. Even if the contents were used ceremonially, the value and knowledge the bundle holds is very significant.
Mr. Louthan told me that the appropriate Native Americans had been notified of the bundle's existence. It has not yet been claimed by any tribe, which usually requires a long process of paperwork and providing proof that it is of a their culture.
I am aware that Native Americans do not permit or endorse the removal of artifacts of their cultures from where they are placed or buried. It nagged at me that I was handling something of potentially sacred value and nothing had been done to care for it on that level. Having determination but no qualifications of my own to deal with this, I hoped this dimension would somehow come into the process. Help came when my friend Shirley Tassencourt, who knew of my research, called me from her straw bale house in the Arizona desert to say two Native Americans were coming to look at the rocks where she lived. They were Bennie LeBeau, a Shoshone elder from the Wind River reservation in Wyoming, and Woableza, a Lakota Souix medicine man and storyteller. Their work, she said, is to document Native American sacred sites that have been forgotten, defaced or misused so they can be recognized and protected. Their hope is that through education a greater understanding and respect between cultures can be established.
I drove to southern Arizona with three photographs of the bundle and my report to Utah Native Plant Society in hopes the men would talk with me. By the time I got there, Shirley had already informed them of my work. I met with Woableza and, though our conversation was brief, I felt as if I had finally been able to deliver a heavy load that I had been carrying.
We all agreed to meet the next day to talk together about the Bundle. Fortunately, we were in a friendly setting with supportive friends around us because the discussions did not start off well. They were furious! They expressed what I suppose is generations of frustration and anger that once again, one of their sacred items had been ripped from the earth where they believe it had been meant to remain. Mr. LeBeau explained that the area from which it came was probably a vision quest area and that the "knowledges" the bundle holds could be learned by someone only as long as it remained buried there. He likened it to our encyclopedia. If all the pages get torn out, the knowledge is gone.
I tried to remain calm, and with the help of the beautiful weather and several glasses of cool iced tea from our host, Allegra Ahlquist, we moved forward. I reminded them that I did not dig up the Bundle. I explained that I thought the bundle was a very important piece in its entirety, and I was concerned that without attention it could become fragmented as different caretakers put some of the contents on display and others in storage. Sadly, several substantial pieces of its contents have already been stolen from the display case.
The men acknowledged that the spirit of the bundle had been disturbed and this was not a good thing. They maintain that ignorance is no excuse in these matters and that mishaps could come to people who disturb or deface Native American artifacts and rock art. This is what they believe. In spite of the fact that we would be working toward the same goal of protection and proper treatment of the Bundle, it was made very clear to me that though my intentions were good, it is really only for Native Americans to understand and care for it. I was invited to join a sweat lodge that they were going to lead that evening. This is a sacred and prayerful ceremony that has a way of clearing confusion and intentions.
Within a few weeks time Mr. LeBeau traveled to Moab to visit Margaret Patterson and the area where the Bundle was dug up, and he saw the large, restored, rock art panels in Sego Canyon. Then we went to the BLM office to see the B undle. By this point, he was very certain that a ceremony was necessary. Thus began the process of gaining permission to have access to the bundle to do so. After a mutually frank discussion with Mr. Louthan where both men spoke of their cultural prophets, how best to learn from the past, and a meeting in the board room to make sure that Mr. LeBeau was in no way laying claim to the Bundle, he was given permission to sing his songs (in the parking lot) and afterward stand by the display case and use sage smudge and feather fan to pray for and bless the spirit of the bundle while the work of land management went on all around us.
In writing this I wanted to include Mr. LeBeau's and Woableza"s voices and was able to conduct a phone/email interview with them when they happened to be in the same place at the same time. Then they turned the tables on me and asked me a few questions.
(Note: While finishing this article, I learned that the Bundle has been moved to the BLM office in Vernal. I don't have all the details, but according to Donna Turnipseed, archeologist for the BLM office in Moab, they are considering beginning the process by which Native Americans may be able to participate in deciding the future of the Patterson Bundle.)
My questions to Mr. LeBeau and Woableza:
1) Why did you take an interest in the Patterson Bundle?
Bennie: Because it was within our tribal linguistic groups migrational areas of people called the uto-aztecan groups of tribes Woableza: Because there have been many sacrilegious unearthings of these types of medicine bundles and being a selected spiritual leader, I would like to compile all the information I can on such instances.
2) What do you think are the differences between the Native American and Anglo's points of view when dealing with Native American artifacts?
Bennie:The difference between Native American spiritual side is not understood by most Anglos on their spiritual side of the unseen knowledges which is not sacred to most of them. The Anglo point of view is not understood in the same direction and attitude of the spiritual consequences as Native Americans. Many sicknesses are taking place in the Anglo communities who have collected these artifacts and have infected their families and close associates with sicknesses and diseases because of these artifacts. Woableza: It is my own feeling that the differences are #1. Our Native American elders and spiritual leaders who are very knowledgeable would never purchase or sell these sacred native artifacts. #2. The knowledgeable people would never expose the public to these inappropriately acquired sacred bundles which have certain powers that were only for the keeper. There is certain protocol if the sacred bundle is to be passed to someone other than the original keeper.
3) In your view, what was the most important thing that helped to bridge this process and bring two very different cultural perspectives together?
Bennie: Bridging the officials of the BLM management in the archaeology and upper level management on the cultural resource areas that have been impacted on Native American knowledges of these areas. Representatives of tribal entities need to have their input within their regulations and guidelines. Without these kinds of people being invited, a great imbalance can take place in the environment of where these artifacts are dug up. The land becomes sick. Droughts can happen. Sicknesses fall upon the animals, plants and humans, and much death takes place in the environment. Educating these governmental agencies and other educational institutions on Native American perspectives helps them to understand Native American perspectives on the importance of protecting our sacred sites, including burial sites. Woableza: In the case of the Patterson Bundle, it was respectful that Mrs. Harrison thought it best to make the connection to Native Americans. She traveled long distances, spent a lot of time on the project, and tried to build a bridge of respect among the races. In her observations, she respected that we all have spiritual origins and that these spiritual ways still exist among the native peoples. I am glad that she did not base all her writings on published books.
4) One of the most important things I learned from working with you, Mr. LeBeau, is how to regard and treat Native American sacred sites. From Woableza I learned about the power of storytelling. Did you learn anything from me?
Bennie: What I learned from her was that she had been affected by her search to find what each plant represented and the sicknesses that they helped. An obsession had entered into her mind and took her on a long journey, causing a great imbalance within the mind, body and spirit. Within the family and every day living circumstances, we can be affected by these certain bundles that have been taken out of the ground disrespectfully. She did not take that out of the ground, but by coming in contact with it and studying the many plants, rock artifacts, owl feathers, fish, jewelry including ochre paint, had certain consequences to be dealt with spiritually. This person's belongings showed that this was a powerful medicine bundle of the person that was buried there with it who doctored their people. Woableza: What I learned from Mrs. Harrison is that she is an herbalogist and has many gifts to offer. She has opened a doorway to another dimension of thinking that will always have to be updated and carefully discussed to respect all cultures.
5) How would you like to see the Bundle cared for in the future? Mr. LeBeau: "I would like to see the bundle treated with the greatest of respect in educating both the Native Americans and the public. On this point, that the plants are very important to us as humans and that the information be used to protect our heritage as Native Americans in the future with the Native American Graves Protection Agency. Also to stress the importance of strengthening new legislation in the laws to protect our sacredness within this situation and others that will arise in the near future. Also, if the tribes are going to be invited to Vernal to talk on this there, I would hope this would be the place to generate this kind of message to governmental agencies and tribal agencies also. "
Mr. LeBeau's and Woableza's questions to me:
1) What has the Bundle taught you on a personal level?
First of all, as an herbalist, I feel privileged to see and study these very old medicinal plants. Up until this point most of my herbal education information could be found in books. This experience has added a new and welcome dimension that will make me a better teacher. It is an affirmation of botanical medicine not to be taken lightly because whatever knowledge is here must have been handed down through generations and has contributed to what we know today about how to use the plants. There is very much that is indeed personal about my experience with the bundle. There were several years before I met Mr. LeBeau and Woableza that I spent in quiet, solitary research. Because it seemed like such a positive thing to be recognizing the identity and potential value of these roots, it was certainly disillusioning to be told, however kindly, that really my work was an invasion of the rights of Native American culture that they had no obligation to share.
2) How has the Native American perspective helped or changed your life?
Before we met, I was feeling really stretched. Adding the Native American perspective brought better balance to everything, including me. Mr. LeBeau told me I needed a ceremony and I gladly took him up on his offer more than once. Afterwards, I was more at ease about the Bundle and my work. As I shared what I knew of the Moab area with them, they shared some of their points of view and interpretations of rock art and sacred sites with me. I certainly see and travel in such places differently now in ways that are more respectful by their standards.
How have the stories you have learned tie in with the Bundle?
My view has greatly expanded as a result of my work and our association. What began as a limited study of the botanical parts of the Bundle grew into a wider understanding and appreciation that there are Native American cultural connections that can be drawn between the Bundle, the landscape, rock art and more.
copyright 2002 Merry Harrison, RH(AHG) is a clinical herbalist, teacher, author and wildcrafter. For class schedule and to ask questions: http://www.millcreekherbs.com
The Patterson Bundle is a leather wrapped assemblage of Native American artifacts that was discovered by Bryce and Margaret Patterson in the Book Cliffs of southeastern Utah in the early 1980s. Margaret has reported that she saw a leather strand under a knee - high ledge. She started digging and followed the strand through dirt and many layers of juniper bark until she found a bundle the size of a shopping bag which she took home with her. (Note, it is illegal to remove Native American artifacts from government lands.) After several years and Bryce's passing, she decided to turn it into the BLM in Moab. Carbon dating show the leather wrapping to be between 400-600 years old which predates European contact. Bruce Louthan, field archaeologist for the Moab office of the BLM inventoried it and wrote an article titled "The Patters on Bundle: A Ute Subsistence Kit?" that was published in Canyon Legacy: A Journal of the Dan O'Laurie Museum-Moab, Utah (1990 Fall).
My interest in the Bundle began in 1998 when I spied a small collection of old roots in the display case at the BLM in Moab. As a trained clinical herbalist, skilled in wildcrafting and knowing something of the therapeutic value of certain wild herbs, my heart skipped a beat when I recognized one of the roots to be osha (Ligusticum porteri) a very potent herb that grows between 7,000 and 10,000 feet elevation.
I asked for and got permission from BLM to examine the root bundle more closely. When I arrived for the appointment to examine it, Mr. Louthan presented a carton of artifacts and asked if I would take a look and see if I understood anything about them. I carefully took out one plastic bag after another that contained smaller leather wrapped bundles of roots, stones, feathers, bones, whorls of bark for basketry and more. I did not realize at the time that everything I was seeing along with the other artifacts in the display case (a necklace of seed and bone, a spoon of wood and horn, stone blades, delicate fringe of leather and seed, a strand of deer dew claws, moccasins. etc.) was from this old Native American bundle.
When I finally examined the root bundle from the display case, I thought, "This is not food.". I knew that I wanted to work to identify the other roots. Mr. Louthan was very helpful in offering pertinent articles, photographs and suggestions. A feature article on my research has been published in
HerbalGram, the Journal of the American Botanical Council, issue #55, along with twenty color photographs by Moab resident Jim Blazik. In it I describe my process, method and list an inventory of what I believe the plants to be.
When I began my study, which was supported in part by the Utah Native Plant Society, my intention was to only work to identify the botanical parts. I was stunned to learn that the root bundles were only part of this very rare collection. The thrill of discovery, however, quickly turned into recognition that there may be more to the meaning and of this collection than just some extra stash of supplies. Could there be more "medicine" here than we realize? I started contemplating what all this might have meant to the person or peoples to whom it belonged. Not that I could know, but this line of thinking broadened my perspective from the limited identification of the plant parts to the notion that maybe all this was important in its entirety. Perhaps every item is related to the next, and though we may never know its use, I regarded it all as a potentially rich and revealing representation of a people and culture that we know very little about.
My initial approach of insistency to know changed to that of patient observation. I would lay elements of the bundle before me in my temporary workspace at the BLM and try to pay attention to the larger context. Since I could not find any similar research or collections in museums in surrounding states, I set out to University libraries to read old ethnographic and botanical texts, herbariums to study plants, and I combed through my own extensive library to refine my search for plants that could be found near to where the Bundle was discovered.
I thought that more might be understood about the context of the Bundle if more were known about the rest of the contents. There were several small bundles that contained faunal material, and I got permission to take them to the University of Utah to be identified by Jack Broughton, Ph.D., associate professor of anthropology. He was able to determine that among them there were rabbit foot bones from a cottontail, arm and leg bones from a jackrabbit, the tail of a short-eared owl, the skin of a small mammal, the headless body of a native trout and an unidentifiable body part.
I know what it takes to find certain medicinal roots. In the case of osha, I have to go up in the mountains to a particular bioregion with a certain sun exposure in just the right month when the snow has melted to be able to see it in flower so I don't confuse it with several other plants that look very similar but can kill you if ingested. But, just how in the world does one acquire an owl's tail? What use or meaning does it have?
Throughout my solitary journey of discovery which lasted 3 years, I always kept in mind that I was looking at and handling a collection whose use, value, purpose and meaning were unknown. My eventual assessment of the botanical parts was that they were from some of the most potent medicinal plants the area had to offer. They would have been very effective against respiratory and bronchial problems that are common among people who spend their winters in the high, dry desert. Even if the contents were used ceremonially, the value and knowledge the bundle holds is very significant.
Mr. Louthan told me that the appropriate Native Americans had been notified of the bundle's existence. It has not yet been claimed by any tribe, which usually requires a long process of paperwork and providing proof that it is of a their culture.
I am aware that Native Americans do not permit or endorse the removal of artifacts of their cultures from where they are placed or buried. It nagged at me that I was handling something of potentially sacred value and nothing had been done to care for it on that level. Having determination but no qualifications of my own to deal with this, I hoped this dimension would somehow come into the process. Help came when my friend Shirley Tassencourt, who knew of my research, called me from her straw bale house in the Arizona desert to say two Native Americans were coming to look at the rocks where she lived. They were Bennie LeBeau, a Shoshone elder from the Wind River reservation in Wyoming, and Woableza, a Lakota Souix medicine man and storyteller. Their work, she said, is to document Native American sacred sites that have been forgotten, defaced or misused so they can be recognized and protected. Their hope is that through education a greater understanding and respect between cultures can be established.
I drove to southern Arizona with three photographs of the bundle and my report to Utah Native Plant Society in hopes the men would talk with me. By the time I got there, Shirley had already informed them of my work. I met with Woableza and, though our conversation was brief, I felt as if I had finally been able to deliver a heavy load that I had been carrying.
We all agreed to meet the next day to talk together about the Bundle. Fortunately, we were in a friendly setting with supportive friends around us because the discussions did not start off well. They were furious! They expressed what I suppose is generations of frustration and anger that once again, one of their sacred items had been ripped from the earth where they believe it had been meant to remain. Mr. LeBeau explained that the area from which it came was probably a vision quest area and that the "knowledges" the bundle holds could be learned by someone only as long as it remained buried there. He likened it to our encyclopedia. If all the pages get torn out, the knowledge is gone.
I tried to remain calm, and with the help of the beautiful weather and several glasses of cool iced tea from our host, Allegra Ahlquist, we moved forward. I reminded them that I did not dig up the Bundle. I explained that I thought the bundle was a very important piece in its entirety, and I was concerned that without attention it could become fragmented as different caretakers put some of the contents on display and others in storage. Sadly, several substantial pieces of its contents have already been stolen from the display case.
The men acknowledged that the spirit of the bundle had been disturbed and this was not a good thing. They maintain that ignorance is no excuse in these matters and that mishaps could come to people who disturb or deface Native American artifacts and rock art. This is what they believe. In spite of the fact that we would be working toward the same goal of protection and proper treatment of the Bundle, it was made very clear to me that though my intentions were good, it is really only for Native Americans to understand and care for it. I was invited to join a sweat lodge that they were going to lead that evening. This is a sacred and prayerful ceremony that has a way of clearing confusion and intentions.
Within a few weeks time Mr. LeBeau traveled to Moab to visit Margaret Patterson and the area where the Bundle was dug up, and he saw the large, restored, rock art panels in Sego Canyon. Then we went to the BLM office to see the B undle. By this point, he was very certain that a ceremony was necessary. Thus began the process of gaining permission to have access to the bundle to do so. After a mutually frank discussion with Mr. Louthan where both men spoke of their cultural prophets, how best to learn from the past, and a meeting in the board room to make sure that Mr. LeBeau was in no way laying claim to the Bundle, he was given permission to sing his songs (in the parking lot) and afterward stand by the display case and use sage smudge and feather fan to pray for and bless the spirit of the bundle while the work of land management went on all around us.
In writing this I wanted to include Mr. LeBeau's and Woableza"s voices and was able to conduct a phone/email interview with them when they happened to be in the same place at the same time. Then they turned the tables on me and asked me a few questions.
(Note: While finishing this article, I learned that the Bundle has been moved to the BLM office in Vernal. I don't have all the details, but according to Donna Turnipseed, archeologist for the BLM office in Moab, they are considering beginning the process by which Native Americans may be able to participate in deciding the future of the Patterson Bundle.)
My questions to Mr. LeBeau and Woableza:
1) Why did you take an interest in the Patterson Bundle?
Bennie: Because it was within our tribal linguistic groups migrational areas of people called the uto-aztecan groups of tribes Woableza: Because there have been many sacrilegious unearthings of these types of medicine bundles and being a selected spiritual leader, I would like to compile all the information I can on such instances.
2) What do you think are the differences between the Native American and Anglo's points of view when dealing with Native American artifacts?
Bennie:The difference between Native American spiritual side is not understood by most Anglos on their spiritual side of the unseen knowledges which is not sacred to most of them. The Anglo point of view is not understood in the same direction and attitude of the spiritual consequences as Native Americans. Many sicknesses are taking place in the Anglo communities who have collected these artifacts and have infected their families and close associates with sicknesses and diseases because of these artifacts. Woableza: It is my own feeling that the differences are #1. Our Native American elders and spiritual leaders who are very knowledgeable would never purchase or sell these sacred native artifacts. #2. The knowledgeable people would never expose the public to these inappropriately acquired sacred bundles which have certain powers that were only for the keeper. There is certain protocol if the sacred bundle is to be passed to someone other than the original keeper.
3) In your view, what was the most important thing that helped to bridge this process and bring two very different cultural perspectives together?
Bennie: Bridging the officials of the BLM management in the archaeology and upper level management on the cultural resource areas that have been impacted on Native American knowledges of these areas. Representatives of tribal entities need to have their input within their regulations and guidelines. Without these kinds of people being invited, a great imbalance can take place in the environment of where these artifacts are dug up. The land becomes sick. Droughts can happen. Sicknesses fall upon the animals, plants and humans, and much death takes place in the environment. Educating these governmental agencies and other educational institutions on Native American perspectives helps them to understand Native American perspectives on the importance of protecting our sacred sites, including burial sites. Woableza: In the case of the Patterson Bundle, it was respectful that Mrs. Harrison thought it best to make the connection to Native Americans. She traveled long distances, spent a lot of time on the project, and tried to build a bridge of respect among the races. In her observations, she respected that we all have spiritual origins and that these spiritual ways still exist among the native peoples. I am glad that she did not base all her writings on published books.
4) One of the most important things I learned from working with you, Mr. LeBeau, is how to regard and treat Native American sacred sites. From Woableza I learned about the power of storytelling. Did you learn anything from me?
Bennie: What I learned from her was that she had been affected by her search to find what each plant represented and the sicknesses that they helped. An obsession had entered into her mind and took her on a long journey, causing a great imbalance within the mind, body and spirit. Within the family and every day living circumstances, we can be affected by these certain bundles that have been taken out of the ground disrespectfully. She did not take that out of the ground, but by coming in contact with it and studying the many plants, rock artifacts, owl feathers, fish, jewelry including ochre paint, had certain consequences to be dealt with spiritually. This person's belongings showed that this was a powerful medicine bundle of the person that was buried there with it who doctored their people. Woableza: What I learned from Mrs. Harrison is that she is an herbalogist and has many gifts to offer. She has opened a doorway to another dimension of thinking that will always have to be updated and carefully discussed to respect all cultures.
5) How would you like to see the Bundle cared for in the future? Mr. LeBeau: "I would like to see the bundle treated with the greatest of respect in educating both the Native Americans and the public. On this point, that the plants are very important to us as humans and that the information be used to protect our heritage as Native Americans in the future with the Native American Graves Protection Agency. Also to stress the importance of strengthening new legislation in the laws to protect our sacredness within this situation and others that will arise in the near future. Also, if the tribes are going to be invited to Vernal to talk on this there, I would hope this would be the place to generate this kind of message to governmental agencies and tribal agencies also. "
Mr. LeBeau's and Woableza's questions to me:
1) What has the Bundle taught you on a personal level?
First of all, as an herbalist, I feel privileged to see and study these very old medicinal plants. Up until this point most of my herbal education information could be found in books. This experience has added a new and welcome dimension that will make me a better teacher. It is an affirmation of botanical medicine not to be taken lightly because whatever knowledge is here must have been handed down through generations and has contributed to what we know today about how to use the plants. There is very much that is indeed personal about my experience with the bundle. There were several years before I met Mr. LeBeau and Woableza that I spent in quiet, solitary research. Because it seemed like such a positive thing to be recognizing the identity and potential value of these roots, it was certainly disillusioning to be told, however kindly, that really my work was an invasion of the rights of Native American culture that they had no obligation to share.
2) How has the Native American perspective helped or changed your life?
Before we met, I was feeling really stretched. Adding the Native American perspective brought better balance to everything, including me. Mr. LeBeau told me I needed a ceremony and I gladly took him up on his offer more than once. Afterwards, I was more at ease about the Bundle and my work. As I shared what I knew of the Moab area with them, they shared some of their points of view and interpretations of rock art and sacred sites with me. I certainly see and travel in such places differently now in ways that are more respectful by their standards.
How have the stories you have learned tie in with the Bundle?
My view has greatly expanded as a result of my work and our association. What began as a limited study of the botanical parts of the Bundle grew into a wider understanding and appreciation that there are Native American cultural connections that can be drawn between the Bundle, the landscape, rock art and more.
copyright 2002 Merry Harrison, RH(AHG) is a clinical herbalist, teacher, author and wildcrafter. For class schedule and to ask questions: http://www.millcreekherbs.com
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