Big Sagebrush

artemisiatridentata

Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Vol. 3: 530.

Navajo Name: Ts'ah

Family	Taxon	Genus
Asteraceae	Artemisia sp.	Artemisia L.

Classification: Artemisia L contains 68 Species and 100 accepted taxa overall

Species:

Common Names: Big Sagebrush, blue sagebrush, chamiso hendiondo, common sagebrush

Primary Use: Medicine

Ceremonies: Life Medicine, Evil Way Medicine, Other curing ceremonies, Bead Chant, Eagle Way, Water Way, Mountaintop Way, Night Way, Evil Way

Ritual Use:

Coyote gave this tobacco to the Water Monster to calm her after he had stole her baby (Mayes and Lacy 1989:107)
tied to hoops used for "unraveling ceremonial objects" (Elmore 1944: 81)
cold infusion used as chant lotion (Wyman and Harris 1941: 67)
mixed with Aster and Amaranthus to make Bead Chant liniment Bead Chant (Elmore 1944: 82)
used with other brush to thatch Mountain Chant sweathouse Mountain Chant (Elmore 1944:82, 84)
patient sits on branches in sweathouse (Elmore 1944: 21)
sweatbath medication (Mayes and Lacy 1989:107)
Medicine men use sagebrush as a the hearth of the ceremonial fire drill (Mayes and Lacy 1989:107)
used in religious curing ceremonies curing ceremonies (Hocking 1956: 158)
used as a Life Medicine on wounds (Franciscan Fathers 1929: 115; Wyman and Harris 1941:63, 69; Elmore 1944: 80)
used as an Evil Way Medicine (Wyman and Harris 1941: 73)
sagewort as an Evil Way unraveling medicine (Wyman and Harris 1941: 73)
used as an Enemy Way medicine (Wyman and Harris 1941: 74)
made into wands for practicing the Night Chant Night Chant (Elmore 1944: 81)
sagebrush wood ritual charcoal used for Evil Way blackening (Wyman and Harris 1941: 74)
mixed with other plants and burned; charcoal "applied to ailing gods" (Elmore 1944: 86)
burned with other plants, patient's body coated with charcoal in Mountain Chant (Elmore 1944: 82)

Medicine:

decoction used "to stop postpartum hemorrhage" (Wyman and Harris 1941: 62)
used on burns and boils (Wyman and Harris 1941: 64)
used to treat corns (Elmore 1944: 82; Hocking 1956: 158)
treat colds and fevers Wyman and Harris 1941: 69 (Elmore 1944: 81; Mayes and Lacy 1989:107)
taken to cleanse body before strenuous activity (Elmore 1944: 81)
The tea is drunk before long hikes or athletic contests to "rid the body of undesirable things" (Mayes and Lacy 1989:107)
made into drink to ease childbirth (Elmore 1944: 81)
boiled, then liquid drunk to treat stomachache (Elmore 1944: 81)
Boiled it is good for childbirth, indigestion, and constipation (Mayes and Lacy 1989:107)
fumes breathed to treat headaches (Elmore 1944: 81)
wood burned with Portulaca oleracea seeds to purify one's body (Elmore 1944: 47)
threetip sagebrush mixed with big sagebrush, fumes breathed to treat headaches (Elmore 1944: 82)
poultice made from pounded leaves good for colds, swellings and tuberculosis or as a liniment for corns (Mayes and Lacy 1989:107)
same medicine is used on animal sores (Mayes and Lacy 1989:107)

Food:

Artemisia wrightii Gray sagebrush achene food ground and made into bread, dumplings or gruel (Steggerda and Eckardt 1941: 223; Elmore 1944: 82)

Other Uses: Ts'ah is used to make yellow, green, and gold wool dyes (Mayes and Lacey 1989:107)

leaf or twig used to make a yellow dye (Young 1940: 63; Elmore 1944: 81; Hocking 1956: 157)
field sagewort added to Yucca shampoo as a conditioner (Wyman and Harris 1941: 53)
used for toilet paper (Elmore 1944: 81)
used for a fire drill (Elmore 1944: 81)
"said to collect dew more readily than any other plant" (Matthews 1886: 773)
bark other used for bottle stopper (Elmore 1944: 82)

References: