Sicangu Lakota Herbalist Anne White Hat adds herbs to the cough syrup blend she made and distributed to Water Protectors at the #NoDAPL encampment in North Dakota. Photo by Vi Waln
Sicangu Herbalist Brings Healing to Water Protectors
By Vi Waln
Lakota Country Times Correspondent
lakotacountrytimes.com CANNON BALL – Anne White Hat, Sicangu Lakota Herbalist, created several remedies which were recently distributed to the Water Protectors residing in the Sacred Stone, Rosebud and Oceti Sakowin camps. “I make an amazing cough syrup that is so good you can put it on your pancakes,” stated White Hat. She recently led a workshop to make the cough syrup at the Oceti Sakowin Camp. Herbs, raw honey and Mason jars donated to the camps were all utilized in this special formula. Several herbalist hopefuls crowded around her during the session to learn how to make the cough syrup. “I work with essential oils as well and I put together a blend specifically for folks here at the camps suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. There’s a lot of people affected with PTSD now,” White Hat stated. “I’ve given away everything I’ve made.”
Elders and children at the #NoDAPL encampment in North Dakota were the first recipients of the herbal cough syrup, distributed while it was still warm in the jars. Photo by Vi Waln
The trauma people are suffering is a result of what they’ve experienced while participating in direct actions at the front line or during their arrest. The militarized police force now protecting the Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) construction site have allegedly committed human rights violations against numerous Water Protectors. White Hat’s blend was created to help people recover from those experiences. For instance, several people who have been arrested in connection with direct actions in Morton County, North Dakota reported that law enforcement took samples of their DNA by swabbing the inside of their mouth. They were concerned about this. However, the Water Protector Trauma Blend of essential oils created by White Hat will work to heal the DNA of those who are suffering from PTSD. “We are working to heal people who suffer from PTSD using the essential oil blend that’s really non-invasive. Essential oils are actually flower essences and they work on the DNA level,” she said. White Hat encouraged many people to “use this flower essence and forget that they took a sample of your DNA, that’s the old DNA, what we are going to do is rewrite the traumatized DNA that you’ve carried for over 500 years,” she said. “We are healing, we are empowering people to leave that DNA trauma behind.”
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White Hat also makes arnica salve, a pain relieving ointment created from herbs and beeswax. Many residents on the Rosebud have used this salve and will testify to its pain relieving power. For example, at least one cancer patient on the Rosebud has used the salve to manage pain. Family members applied the salve all over the patient’s body to relieve some of the pain. White Hat has been creating herbal remedies for about 20 years. She has led workshops on the Rosebud and Pine Ridge Reservations. She is planning another visit to Standing Rock in the near future. Her special herbal cough syrup, arnica salve and other remedies can be ordered online. Visit whitehatherbs.com and place your order today. For more information or to make a donation, you can email whitehatherbs@gmail.com (Vi Waln is an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation and is a nationally published journalist.) Find the award-winning Lakota Country Times on the Internet, Facebook and Twitter and download the new Lakota Country Times app today.
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