A Taste of Heritage

Drawing on the knowledge and wisdom of countless generations of Crow Indian women, well-known speaker and teacher Alma Hogan Snell presents an indispensable guide to the traditional lore, culinary uses, and healing properties of native foods.A Taste of Heritageimparts the lore of ages along with the traditional Crow philosophy of healing and detailed practical advice for finding and harvesting plants: from the key to creating irresistible dishes of cattails and dandelions, salsify and Juneberries, antelope meat and buffalo hooves to the secret of using plants to enhance beauty and incite love. Snell describes the age-old practice of turning wildflowers and garden plants into balms and remedies for ailments and injuries from snakebite and headache to leg cramps, swollen joints, asthma, and sores. She brings to bear not only her lifetime of experience but also the invaluable lessons of her grandmother, the legendary medicine woman Pretty Shield.With life-enhancing recipes for everything from soups, teas, and breads to poultices, aphrodisiacs, and fertility aids,A Taste of Heritageis above all a fascinating cultural document certain to enrich the reader's relationship with the natural world.Alma Hogan Snell is the granddaughter of the famed Crow medicine woman Pretty Shield, on whose life the classicPretty-shieldis based. She is the author ofGrandmother's Grandchild: My Crow Indian Life, available in a Bison Books edition. Lisa Castle is a graduate student in biology at the University of Kansas. Kelly Kindscher is an associate scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey and the author ofMedicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide.

Alma Hogan Snell is the granddaughter of the famed Crow medicine woman Pretty Shield, on whose life the classic Pretty-shield is based. She is the author of Grandmother’s Grandchild: My Crow Indian Life, available in a Bison Books edition. Lisa Castle is a graduate student in biology at the University of Kansas. Kelly Kindscher is an associate scientist at the Kansas Biological Survey and the author of Medicinal Wild Plants of the Prairie: An Ethnobotanical Guide.