We were excited to invite Mr. Tyler Waddilove in our classroom. He is from the Munsee-Delaware Nation. He came to teach us about many different ways his Indigenous culture uses nature as medicine or in ceremonies. 

He made our learning very hands-on by bringing in different medicines to show us. He started by showing us a container of Minigan which is bear fat. It is mixed with pine resin and is a healing salve used to treat cuts, scrapes, wounds.

He introduced us to 4 major medicines used during ceremonies.

• Sage (used in smudging)
• Tobacco (used as an offering and held only in the left hand because it’s closer to our heart)
• Sweet grass (often seen braided as it is believed that earth is female)
• Cedar–the most powerful medicine. It is used for making tea, for bathing in.

Tyler showed us male and female eagle feathers that are used in the smudging ceremony. He also showed us the large shell that is used to burn the sage. He demonstrated what smudging looks like by using the feathers to move the smoke around the body. We didn’t want to set off any fire alarms, so he just simulated the smudging.

Tyler explained the creation story and why North America is called “Turtle Island” and how his culture believes that everything is connected. We are one with nature. 

Thank you, Tyler, for taking the time to visit us!