The HWB quarterly newsletter is where we share more about our work, chapters, clinics, members, projects, and activities around the globe. It is also how we update members and Coordinators on what others do. So many people are doing amazing work in their communities - we love to share. And, while we each focus on the needs of our communities, we do not live in a bubble, and by sharing our stories, being aware of others, and communicating, we are all stronger as a part of our global network that unites under a vision, mission, and shares a belief in health justice for all.  By sharing support, knowledge, experience, and connecting as allies, we all have a greater awareness of our place on this planet, and see all that we have in common as herbalists around the world. 

Together, we are stronger. 

~By Coral Weinstock

Donate Supplies
HWB keeps an updated list of supplies and prepared medicines most needed by on-the-ground street medics and BIPOC community organizers. View that list, along with other information on donating supplies, here.

Get Involved With Community Based Herbalism
Community based herbalism focuses on providing local and sustainable botanical medicine to communities that have been systematically neglected or excluded by conventional health care, and on providing resources to folx on the frontl ines of revolutionary struggle. To learn more and get involved, check out: The Solidarity Apothecary, HWB People’s Clinics, and Herbalists Without Borders’ Guide To Community Herbalism.

Join a Local Street Medic Team
An herbalist can be an incredibly valuable addition to a street medic team. For more information on herbal care for protesters, check out this zine compiled by a team of herbalists, street medics, herbal first aid specialists and educators:
Herbal First Aid For All Who Have Experienced Police Violence. 

Educate Yourself On Colonialism And Whitewashing Within Herbalist Spaces
Many of the healing plants widely used in western herbalist practices today were first used by indigenous peoples across the globe and much of our collective botanical knowledge comes from the work of BIPOC. Unfortunately, especially as herbalism has become more popular within mainstream culture, that history has often been obscured or “white washed” and replaced with a false narrative that places white people at the center. [To learn more, check out this free ebook Queering Herbalism, written by Tori, a community organizer and medicine maker. ]

Listen To and Rejoice In The Wisdom Of BIPOC Herbalists and Healers
Find out who the BIPOC herbalists in your geographical region or specific field of interest are, or check out this list of some BIPOC practitioners, collectives, and herbal schools. 

Refrain From Purchasing Plants Held Sacred By Other Communities 
Appropriative use of White Sage (Salvia Apiana), a sacred ritual plant within many Native American tribes of North America, and Palo Santo (Bursera Graveolens / Bursera Sarmientoi), a holy tree in many South American indigenous communities, has led to overharvesting, and this has also limited their availability to those who hold them these plants sacred. Instead, embrace local biodiversity and your personal heritage to find your own rituals. Check out this article by Good Witch Kitchen for more ideas. 

Grow a Row (Or More) Of Healing Plants Earmarked for Donation 
The revolution didn’t start in a day and it won’t end in a day, either. Access to quality medical care has always been a political issue. Designate a portion of your garden to growing herbs for future donation. 

Stay Engaged
Many of us, especially us white folx, aren’t used to thinking or talking about race this much. It can feel overwhelming, tiring or confusing. Take time to rest and nourish yourself. Don’t forget that allyship is not a goal to achieve; it’s a lifelong learning process. 
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HERBAL ANTIVIRALS: Natural remedies of Emerging and Resistant Viral Infections
By Stephen Harrod Buhner

Reviewed by Barbara Volk 

This book is a fabulous reference and because it is so beautifully written, it is a pleasure to read as well. In the first section, Stephen describes the mechanisms of viruses and how they function in the body. Next he goes into specific individual and virus groups with in-depth treatment protocols for each. Chapter 5 is the Materia Medica which begins with: 

“There has been very little work in the popular press (especially in the west) on herbal antivirals - and most of what has occurred is embarrassingly poor. There are a number of reasons for this. 

The field of antivirals itself, whether medical or herbal, is in relative infancy.........The general over emphasis on bacteria as disease causing agents.......also contributes to the problem. Then there is the nature of viruses themselves and the difficulty of actually creating effective pharmaceutical antivirals.” 

Each plant is described with its traditional uses, plant chemistry, scientific studies and a list of the specific viruses that the plant is effective in treating. 

The epilog begins with “Once your life is saved by a plant, things are never the same again.” Here Stephen describes the different processes used to make the medicines and includes a source list of supplies. 

This is a must have book, not only for the professional herbalist but for anyone who is interested in using plant medicine in their own lives. 

~By Miriah Meiers
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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.

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.