Pipsissewa, Princes Pine, Gaagigebagohns

Commute to and from Asubpeeschoseewagong First Nation (Grassy Narrows) for me was 3500 total kilometers of medicine country! Every chance we had we were stopping and collecting all the goodies those beautiful bogs had to offer, chaga, black spruce gum, labrador tea etc. In this photo we found Pipsissewa, an excellent treat for us southerners. 

Pipsissewa is a Cree word for this plant that describes unique ability to crumble into tiny particles when dry. 'Piisapiisaa' is a weather term in my Ojibwe dialect used to describe 'drizzling' and fine snow is 'piispwa' the color purple is 'piisagaandeh' What is the commonality? Small particles. What do small particles have to do with the color purple?


Manitoulin has a island called Strawberry Island which was traditionally known as Piisa-aazhbik-cokning (purple rock island) The reason for this name is this island has a tiny purple rock that crumbles easily into small particles and you boil those small particles to make a brilliant purple dye. 

I heard on CBC radio a few years ago that there was no such thing as a natural purple dye, and that all species have been over consumed and are now extinct. Strawberry island still has this rock and a natural purple dye still exists. 

The plant Pipsissewa is also called Prince's Pine, it is used in nearly every compound medicine as the primary ache reliever, it is my go-to aid for fibromyalgia as well, here why: 

CoX2 is an enzyme thrown out of whack when you are fighting different virus's like colds and flu's, this is the cause of 'flu aches' It is just this enzyme eating away at everything causing that pain. This enzyme is also thrown out of whack when you have fibromyalgia which is a gnawing pain in every fiber of your body. Again most advanced theories on this pain point the finger to the enzyme CoX2 eating away at every fiber of your body causing this incredible pain. 

Pipsissewa, natures most effective CoX2 inhibitor. Pain, gone. A lot of really 'innovative' pharmaceuticals ie. Celebrex attempt to mimic natural CoX2 inhibitors but in comparative studies cannot come close. They are still worth around 3 billion/year per brand, there are almost a dozen with that worth. 

Pipsissewa in my language is called Gaagigebagohns, which means 'forever the same' its called this because it is such a gorgeous plant in that it is evergreen, it is available all year, even under 3 meters of snow. This plant is the epitome of a concept that I teach about availability. Evergreens are evergreen for a reason. The reason is that you need them, all year. You cannot live without them. In reverse, this world could not have been created to seasonally starve you of these plants. All evergreens have been created to survive -50 degree weather and wind-chills of -80 just so you can harvest them on a need/want-basis. Even if you forgot to harvest them before snowfall they will always be there for you. This is a very important concept that really needs to be taken advantage of in the most proper way.
This is a plant that I found on the side of hwy 17, it carpeted the border of every bog. The amount I harvested for my family and friends took a mere 20 minutes. Where I harvested, because of the way I harvested, that area will have double the amount of Pipsissewa next year. I love our Creator for giving us everything that we need to stay healthy, heal and all the knowledge we need to be proper stewards of this land.