Unearthing the Roots: Why American Herbalism is Missing Half the Story

If you’ve ever studied traditional North American herbalism, you've likely noticed the numerous species brought over from Europe.

But have you also noticed the disproportionate focus on the plants of the Eastern woodlands? This is not an accident of geography—it is a direct consequence of colonization and the erasure of Indigenous knowledge.

To practice ethical herbalism today, we must understand why so much of the continent's profound, millennia-old plant wisdom was systematically disrupted.

The Two Erasures of Knowledge

The current state of American materia medica (the body of therapeutic plant knowledge) is largely defined by two tragic historical processes:

1. The Early Impact of Disease on Western Knowledge

The narrative often focuses on direct European conquest, but the spread of Eurasian diseases had an even more devastating and rapid impact, particularly on the West Coast.

Indigenous communities, who were the repositories of local knowledge, lived in a state of profound, intimate collaboration with their plant ecosystems. Their sophisticated practices—from sustainable harvesting cycles to highly specific medicinal preparations for local ailments—were held in the memories of elders, healers, and community leaders.

When diseases like smallpox and influenza hit, these communities were often devastated before widespread European settlement even began.

• The Loss: Entire lineages of healers were wiped out, taking with them generations of nuanced understanding of regional plants. The libraries of knowledge (the people themselves) vanished, often leaving younger generations without the elders needed to transmit complex seasonal and medicinal protocols.

  
  

• The Result: When European settlers finally reached the West, they found communities already severely weakened and much of the existing knowledge fragmented or silent. This made it easier for settlers to dismiss Indigenous systems and import their own, less appropriate, European materia medica.

2. The Dominance of European and Eastern Plants

As the United States was established, the primary body of folk herbal knowledge came from two sources:

• Settler Traditions: Immigrants brought plants familiar to them—Dandelion, Plantain, Burdock—which quickly naturalized. These were immediately embraced because they required no new learning and had familiar uses.

  
  

• The Eclectic Movement (Eastern U.S.): Early American herbalists (mostly operating east of the Mississippi) created sophisticated systems largely based on the plants available in the Eastern and Midwestern regions. Herbs like Goldenseal, Black Cohosh, and Boneset became staples because they were geographically accessible to the medical colleges and publishing centers of the era.

  
  

This combination cemented an East-facing and Europe-derived herbal canon. Western plants, with their unique chemistry and traditions, were sidelined for over a century simply because they were remote from the centers of colonial power and publishing.

Reconnecting to the Land

Acknowledging this history is the foundation of ethical herbal practice. It means recognizing that the "American" herbal knowledge base is incomplete and was built on a foundation of erasure.

What we can do today:

1. Acknowledge Land and Lineage: Always credit Indigenous knowledge where possible and acknowledge the traditional territories upon which you forage or grow.

2. Study Regional Plants: Dedicate time to understanding the plants of your current bioregion, not just those listed in European texts.

3. Support Indigenous Growers and Educators: Seek out and support Indigenous voices who are actively reclaiming and sharing the plant wisdom that survived the colonial era.

   
   

By understanding why our foundational texts look the way they do, we can actively participate in restoring the full, vibrant story of this land’s incredible plant medicine.

For an incomplete list of herbal books written by indigenous authors, check out my recommended reading list here, and please leave your favorites or any I've missed in the comments!

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Thank you for listening to the land so that we can better listen to each other.

-Jovie