Herbalists Without Borders International

HWB Iowa - Meet Our Members

1/10/2019

Herbalists Without Borders - Iowa Chapter
Meet Our Members
~Written by Valarie Kimm

One Sunday each month, 5 inspirational women meet in Studio 128 of the beautiful, historic Cherry Building near downtown Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The Cherry Building is nestled within a district known as NewBo (New Bohemia), named for the Czech immigrant population that first settled the area in the mid to late 1800’s. The neighborhood is now comprised of a wide variety of small businesses; including arts, culture and entertainment venues, and former industrial sites.

Inside the Cherry Building, within the atrium of the main level, the entrance to the studio glows invitingly with the soft flickering light from an electric fireplace. Comfortable furnishings, candles, and natural décor provide a relaxing and welcoming atmosphere.

These 5 women assemble together, unifying to provide their unique experience and energies, an opportunity for the community to be empowered and assisted, through their services and knowledge of available resources. Each woman brings her own set of tools, products, and skills, for one very important purpose… providing free/low cost (donation-based) alternative health and wellness consultation, services, and referrals for community members in need.

What are the benefits attending a People's Clinic?

Herbalists Without Borders International sponsors People's Clinics globally, with locations and services being offered in many countries throughout the world. The HWB Iowa Chapter, based in Cedar Rapids and led by Donna Bass, Chapter Coordinator, is currently the only HWB chapter located in Iowa. Promoting the establishment and growth of additional chapters is very important to making this beneficial opportunity available to more communities and their members.

All community members are welcome and are invited to monthly People's Clinics in Cedar Rapids via publicly-posted flyers, social media event pages, personal invitations from family/friends/co-workers, and promotions/referrals through local businesses that advertise wellness programs.

People's Clinic is targeted to reach and help everyone in the community, but especially those who are uninsured, underinsured, and cannot afford necessary interim services outside of their regular appointments with medical/healthcare providers. No one is turned away from People's Clinic for inability to pay. Donation-based services are provided to all, at no/low cost to participants.

Services offered at Cedar Rapids People's Clinics currently include herbal consultation, referrals to community resources, licensed massage therapy (chair massage/hand massage), essential oil aromatherapy, energy work, Reiki, modern shamanic practices, sound therapies (singing bowls, drum/rattle), spiritual guidance, and more. Participants are invited to experience one, or as many services as they have time to complete.

HWB headquarters (or “The Mothership” as the Iowa Chapter lovingly refers to it), will often provide donations of natural body products and herbal supplements which are given (free) to clinic participants and community members in need.

These 5 women in Iowa volunteer many gifts; a variety of services, products, wisdom, and loving presence, holding space and promoting transformation of mind, body, and spirit. Everyone who attends People's Clinic in Cedar Rapids is not only treated with dignity and respect, all are given unconditional LOVE from each practitioner, and offered support to face whatever life changes they may be encountering. HWB Iowa Chapter members are proud of the connection, emotion, and energy they are sharing with the Cedar Rapids community and its’ members.

Who are the 5 members of the HWB Iowa Chapter?

Donna Bass - Master Herbalist, Cosmetologist, Founder HWB Iowa Chapter
Donna Bass, Founder of the HWB Iowa Chapter, earned a Master’s degree in Herbalism, and is a licensed cosmetologist. Donna completes review of intake paperwork with participating community members, provides herbal consultations, as well as offering suggestions/recommendations for resources and services. Donna is passionate about helping those who are underserved in the community, especially those diagnosed with PTSD, who are experiencing homelessness, and people needing resources. Donna loves educating people and indulging them with her unique line of herbal body products, salon, and spa services. She currently works in Brunettes on Center Point Rd. NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. You can schedule services or a consultation with Donna by contacting Brunettes at 319-393-1817.

Rebekah “Bex” Hurn – Licensed Massage Therapist
Rebekah provides licensed massage therapy and other bodywork within Studio 128, inside the Cherry Building, in Cedar Rapids, IA. She describes herself as “a massage therapist that incorporates different modalities into a treatment. Anything from essential oils to energy work to sound bowls can be used…” Rebekah likes creating balance, a safe and sacred space for healing, and enjoys working on the root cause of pain and discomfort. She has generously donated the sacred space in her studio each month, allowing HWB Peoples’ Clinic volunteer practitioners a space to work within, so that the community may be invited to receive low/no cost alternative services.

Jennifer Davis-Bachmann - Licensed Massage Therapist, Reiki II Practitioner
Jennifer Davis-Bachmann is a Licensed Massage Therapist and Reiki II Practitioner. She offers chair massage, hand massage, stretching, and aromatherapy services at Peoples’ Clinic in Cedar Rapids each month. Jen provides licensed massage therapy and Reiki sessions in Marion, IA and Cedar Rapids area. Jen serves anyone in need of relief from chronic pain, or who just wants to experience relaxation, de-stressing, and rebalancing. You can schedule by contacting her at 319-551-0862 or sending her a message through the Echo of My Heart Healing and Massage Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/echoofmyheart/

Paula Hinzman-Mitchell – Herbalist, Usui Reiki Master/Teacher, Shamanic Practitioner
Paula is a practitioner of Modern Core Shamanism and provides Reiki and shamanic energy work during Peoples’ Clinic each month. She also provides shamanic energywork and reiki sessions at ReAlive in Marion, Iowa by appointment and at selected events. Paula works with anyone who wants to connect with their own spiritual path, their own sacred stories, and their innate healing potential. You can schedule by contacting her at 319-360-5972 or sending her a message through the Sacred Fire, LLC Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/SacredFireLLC/

Valarie Kimm – Usui Reiki Master/Teacher, Shamanic Practitioner, ACI Practitioner, Owner of SWEAT Hot Yoga & Sacred Dance Studio
Valarie provides modern shamanic healing and energywork services, classes, workshops, and events through Spirit Sparrow Sacred Services & Guidance (online/distance & in person throughout Iowa). She is also the owner of SWEAT Hot Yoga & Sacred Dance Studio, opening February 2019 in Cedar Rapids (Hiawatha), Iowa. You can schedule services or register for classes by contacting her at 319-241-1980, call/visit SWEAT during normal business hours, or send her a message through the Spirit Sparrow Sacred Services and Guidance Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/1SpiritSparrow/

To find a Chapter near you, visit our Find a Chapter page;
www.hwbglobal.org/find-a-chapter.html
To become a member of HWB or to renew your membership, visit;
www.hwbglobal.org/member-benefits.html

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What happened to the Water Protectors? They are still fighting.

1/7/2019

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What happened to the Water Protectors? They are still fighting. This is a humanitarian story.

~By Miriah Meiers

The Dakota Access Pipeline has been in service for eighteen months now, beginning in June 2017. It was two years ago this past October that Native American Tribes tried to block its construction near their reservation lands in South Central North Dakota. This became a large protest that escalated into an almost war-like event between the Native Tribes and Morton County Authorities. Many arrests were made on October 22, 2016.

The Dakota Pipeline was built to carry crude oil from Stanley, North Dakota (My hometown) to Pakota, Illinois, in order to increase its exportation to other lands. It crosses 50 counties in four states. It is owned by various companies and merges of these same companies.

This became a mainstream story worldwide capturing the protesting of the construction of this pipeline by various interests and throughout social media. The protestors referred to themselves as Water Protectors and consisted of mostly indigenous Native Americans from various tribes, but specifically the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux, as it was threatening their land. As this protest stirred up more recognition, even celebrities were calling themselves Water Protectors, as were anyone else in support for the cause.

The protesting started after the initial route was redirected from being 10 miles Northeast of Bismarck, ND to further south near the Standing Rock Reservation, regardless of the Tribes Council Members concerns about water sources and sacred land being disrupted by the oil pipeline. The pipeline runs under the Missouri River.

This was also a very high tension time with a heated presidential election happening in congruence with this historical protest and was directly affected by it. After months of protests by thousands of indigenous and environmental activists, the Obama Administration denied a key permit for the DAPL. A few months later, Trump became president and reversed Obama’s decision and approved construction on the pipeline. This was one of Trump’s first actions as a President, to ensure an increase of domestic energy production. This distressed Native people in the United States and Canada, not only the destruction of land and water, but that the decisions were made discounting indigenous rights.

Today, the pipeline transfers crude oil from the Bakken oil basin of North Dakota at a rate of over 500,000 barrels per day. The Dakota Access Pipeline is not the only pipeline in this area, hundreds if not more are underground, sometimes several per field. The state will most likely run out of pipeline capacity next year, and Energy Transfer recently announced its plans to expand its Dakota Access pipeline, in order to transport more oil.

Timothy Comminhay, a North Dakota native was at Standing Rock throughout its entirety, arriving in September of 2016 and remained there until escorted by the Mandan Police Department via handcuffs February 23, 2017. Tim is an old friend of mine and I’ve had a pleasure to stay in touch with him during this protest, and periodically ever since. He is a modern day human rights activist!

Tim was living in Hawaii at the time the pipeline construction started and when the protest began, he headed home to North Dakota to join the fight. “When I first came to Standing Rock, I came here to fight a pipeline. I thought it was my duty. After a few months of living among so many amazing people unified, it became apparent that we were all here for something larger. We were here to fight for indigenous rights.”

Many people saw footage of this protest through socialmedia and mainstream news sources. North Dakota is also my native state and everyone was heated about it, from many different angles. I chose to express Tim’s perspective because he was there and he was on the front lines of the indigenous side.

On October 22, there were 126 arrests made after a maddening battle between the Morton County law enforcement and the indigenous people. It was not a pretty scene, but the water protectors stood their ground and many were put in handcuffs.

I asked Tim what the craziest thing he saw during this protest. Morton County could not house all of the arrestees in their county jail so they crammed the overflow into DIY chain-link fence kennels inside their garage, after stripping them down to one layer of clothing. North Dakota gets COLD and concrete floors make it worse.

Tim stayed in Mandan, waiting on court for misdemeanor charges. Most people were charged with the same two offences; Trespassing and Obstruction of a government function. After being released, he started working for Freshetcollective.org, dedicated to helping others fulfill their legal obligations and getting bonded out of custody. This organization focused on supporting everyone involved, helping to assure them that their sacrifices made a difference.
After many months of playing in the Morton County legal system, many charges were dropped, usually the day before trail. Tim said he was disappointed. He waited a long time, patiently, and helping others to show up, only to be denied his chance to speak with charges dropped instantly pretrial, usually only one day before trail, for everyone. There are still a couple who were convicted of more serious charges that are serving time in State prison.

Today, Tim is still fighting the fight. He is currently in Minnesota, challenging oil extraction companies. I do not blame him for not wanting to be in his home state. Tim has a great message, “We are running out of time! We need to first of all resist our government that wants nothing but to make a profit by exploiting all of our planets resources and our human rights to live here.” Extreme measures need to be taken, and I agree. Before we can save what is broken, it is time to stop that which is destroying our natural world. “We can’t be defeated!” said Tim, after asking him if he is going to continue this activist work, “If we are defeated, then we are going to lose everything! Even if the whole world realized tomorrow that it was time to work together, it would probably take three or four generations to repair what we’ve done to this world.”

NDPL is only one of many pipelines that transport oil throughout the Midwest. There are constantly new permits being granted for more. This particular pipeline however, did draw attention to a current reality, which is based around profit from natural resources. These tribes stood up to a system that places profit above everything else, both our natural world and the people that live on it. That is a scary equation. These forces seem highly unlikely to stop their ways anytime soon. The North Dakota Native Tribes had the courage to stand up for their rights. We should all learn from them. We must not let greed put humanity at such high risk. What is all this profit for anyways? At what point does the future of our planet, its life and our species stop being bought and sold?

About Miriah: Adventure seeker, snowboarder, mountain climber, river rat, yogi, surfer wannabe, outdoor enthusiast. Writer, artist, activist, green medicine cratswoman, wondering explorer.

I became a member and volunteer of Herbalists Without Borders in 2012 as the Healing Arts Project Coordinator, while living in Denver, Colorado. In 2014, I began constructing the quarterly newsletters and have served as the editor since and love it. The early newsletters were constructed while I lived remotely from Northern California; off-the-grid, on the move, and usually without internet access! I currently reside in Telluride, Colorado.

I’m striving to connect more with other Herbalists Without Borders globally on my travels and be an advocate writer on behalf of our non-profit, and freelance writer for other common causes. I truly support the humanitarian work of Herbalists Without Borders. I believe in humanity, and the moon and the stars. I’m passionate about protecting the Earth’s medicine and the rights to have access to it.

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Herbal Action Podcast Episode 6: Leah Wolfe, Radical Herbalism

12/17/2018

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Episode 6 of the Herbal Action Podcast is now live!

In episode 6, Herbalists Without Borders chats with Leah Wolf of the Trillium Center about radical herbalism. For Leah, radical herbalism is a combination of roots, restoration, resistance, and resilience. She integrates these four concepts into a four element system of herbalism to help her students understand how to go deeper in understanding health and wellness issues. Listen to the podcast episode below.

Leah Wolfe, Trillium Center

Leah Wolfe, MPH, is a full-time herbalist living on a farm in NE Ohio. She has a background in public health research and health education but has a penchant for the unexplainable. The Trillium Center, an educational project, emerged during the depths of winter 2012 when the thinning veil allowed her to see her path as a teacher alongside the great lake of Erie. The Trillium Center is run out of BLD farm, a small homesteading farm where she teaches people how to identify, process, and use wild plants. Classes are taught in a straw bale classroom made with local clay mixed with straw and cattail fluff. Leah travels cross country to gather plants in many ecosystems and teaches where ever there are people who want to learn more about plants and medicine. Contact her about having a class in your area. Contact Leah and find more information about her upcoming classes at trilliumcenter.org

Leah Wolfe, MPH
Community Herbalist and Health Educator
Trillium Center
http://trilliumcenter.org

Listen right now below, or choose your favorite podcast subscription format:

On iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/herbal-action-podcast/id1429057753
On blubrry: www.blubrry.com/herbalactionpodcasthwb/
RSS: https://feed.pippa.io/public/shows/5b6b6cb399ad42844b43b743
iHeart Radio: www.iheart.com/podcast/269-Herbal-Action-Podca-29758398/
Spreaker: www.spreaker.com/show/2935570
Google Play: https://play.google.com/music/listen?u=0#/ps/Ifkidpkursbdfjp7jitzfetdibi

You can also always find our episodes at our HWB YouTube Channel:
On YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl8tjHkLOGg&t=945s

Interested in being a part of our podcast and webinar team? Write to the office about volunteering!

Interested in being a guest on a podcast episode? Email the office and tell us about your idea, and what you would like to talk about. officehwb@gmail.com.

Interview Questions, Editing, Music, & Interview By Denise Cusack.

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Vermont Trauma Conversation

12/13/2018

~By Wren Fulner, HWB Feature Blog Writer

In an increasingly divisive political world, intersectional activism is more essential than ever. The recent project of Kristin Henningsen and Kenzie McDonald in Burlington, Vermont to start an inclusive and representational conversation around trauma through a weekend long workshop is an excellent template for healers to address community needs. This event came together through an alchemy of partnership, learning, and listening, with support from a small grant from Herbalists Without Borders, as well as hosting by Railyard Apothecary.

Their work began months before, meeting with the local Vermont Herbalists Without Borders chapter to plan a fundraising herbal spa day and craft fair to support workshop scholarships for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and transgender folks. This diversity was critical to the success of the trauma conversations because “the demographic of the participants should mirror the speakers, and vice versa”. The fundraiser was remarkably successful and raised funds to send between 12 and 15 people to the weekend’s workshop; Kristin and Kenzie are planning another spa day fundraiser gathering soon.

The November weekend workshop itself was a whirlwind of practitioners of all modalities sharing space, from nurses to herbalists to reiki and yoga healers, as well as a collection of insightful speakers, “a really nice mix of science and spirit”. Framing the event as an experiential conversation rather than an academic training was critical to the desired result of a “sense of community and action” for the group. Arriving there took time, however, and through community feedback during the planning stages, Kristin and Kenzie realized the necessity of changing the rhetoric of the event to “trauma informed learning” rather than “training”, moving away from the expectation that a single weekend can provide all the tools one might need to support folks with trauma.

There will certainly be a follow up event in months to come, and the organizers look forward to being able to apply their learnings. More volunteers are needed, as well as earlier advertising in order to connect with the widest diversity of participant identities and modalities. In addition, Kristin and Kenzie wish they would have provided a feedback form at the event itself, rather than after the fact, so as to gather more useful input for future gatherings.

Though the kyriarchy will continue creating trauma that challenges the skills and energy of healers, events such as this foster the community resiliency from which we can find strength to do the work.

A big thank you to Kenzie and Kristin of HWB Vermont.

ABOUT WREN:

Wren Fulner is a queer amateur herbalist, a recent transplant to Eugene, Oregon from the cold winters of Minnesota, and writer for the Herbalists Without Borders blog. She is largely self-taught, both in herbalism and writing, and also enjoys hiking by the rugged Pacific Northwest ocean, practicing tarot and astrology, and playing Dungeons and Dragons when she can get a group together. Rose and Tulsi are her favorite herbal allies, though she's recently learning to love Skullcap as well. She hopes to share a house with her partner before too long, on acreage to homestead and establish an enormous garden for nourishment and healing.

Herbal Action Podcast Episode 5: Leslie Alexander on Dental Herbalism

11/15/2018

In Episode 5, HWB Executive Director Denise Cusack speaks with Leslie Alexander about Dental Herbalism. Find out more about herbs that support oral health, including oral health in herbal intakes, her top herbal picks for oral care, and more!

Leslie Alexander is a professional herbalist and owner of Restoration Herbs in Erie, PA. Leslie is Registered Herbalist (RH) with the American Herbalists Guild, and is serving her third term on the AHG Council. Leslie is author of the book Dental Herbalism: Natural Therapies for the Mouth, and teaches on this topic throughout the US. She also works with individuals one-on-one, and teaches on any number of topics, including clinical skill development and medicine making.

To find out more about Leslie and her work, visit:
http://www.restorationherbs.com/
http://www.restorationherbs.com/dental-herbalism.html