1st Sacred Medicine Tobacco teaching shared by Snowbird Black Feather

Tobacco (Semah)

"Semah, or tobacco, is one of the four sacred plants. It represents the Eastern Direction and the mind. The Anishinabe use a form of tobacco known as kinikinik, or a red willow mix. Because it opens the door to the Creator. When tobacco is used to make smoke, it is one of the most sacred of plants for Native people. Some elders say that tobacco is used to connect the worlds since the plant’s roots go deep into the earth, and its smoke rises high into the sky. This plant is highly respected and highly honored. Giving tobacco is a beautiful way of our people. Ceremonies using tobacco invoke a relationship with the energies of the universe, and ultimately the Creator, and the bond made between earthly and spiritual realms is not to be broken. There are four traditional Tobacco uses. None of them will harm you." -Snowbird Black Feather

Growing Tobacco

When we use tobacco properly, we must refer to it by its Native American Name. When tobacco is grown from the earth, you know it is clean. It is good for us to develop our knowledge about the use and growing of tobacco in the old way with guidance from our grandparents and other Native tobacco people. To grow tobacco in a sacred way, we must re-establish the bonds between oneself and the earth, sky, plants, and animals. Traditional, sacred methods should be utilized in preparing the earth and the seeds. We need to revive our planting ceremonies so that we can have access to tobacco that is grown and prepared in a good way for our ceremonies We need to be mindful of the reasons behind why we do things the way we do. Do everything by hand, in a good way. Proper preparation, use of sacred stones in the planting, acknowledge our directions so that we remain mindful our own state of being in creation. Using tobacco traditionally requires a whole different mind set. We need to realize that we are more whole than we give ourselves credit for. We must find the wisdom and the courage to revive our cultural ways.

Tobacco is part of our heritage. We need to better understand our traditions, so we can better understand who we are. Re-establish our belief in tobacco as a sacred plant for healing, ceremony and prayer.

Should We Use Cigarettes To Pray?

"Most Native people don’t have access to our real botanicals. We’ve been moved off the lands where these plants were grown. Reservation life encourages peer pressure to smoke commercial tobacco and to rely on products that can be obtained quickly and easily from local stores owned by non-Indians. If the plant is not prepared properly and mindfully, the power of the ceremony will be diluted. For our ceremonies to have their full power, we need to know how the tobacco was procured, grown and harvested to have a whole ceremony." -Snowbird Black Feather