Sweetgrass Candle

Mashkiki means medicine in anishinaabemowin (Ojibwe). The plants around us are living beings, with gifts and purpose. Like us. We can learn a lot from them, and also welcome them in helping us. 

The 4 Sacred Medicines to the Anishinaabe are tobacco, cedar, sage & sweetgrass. These plants were specifically given to us by creator, to assist us in our journey. 

At Indigenously Infused, we grow the traditional medicines and teach their significance. We then harvest and infuse the plants into our products. 

Reviving our anishinaabe language is vital to many of our teachings and values. This is why the anishinaabemowin name is highlighted on all of our labels. 

Semaa

Tobacco : nicotina rustic

Semaa was the first maskiki (medicine) that was gifted to us by Creator. The smoke is used to carry our prayers to the sky, to be heard by the ancestors and Creator. It js also the first step we take when practicing traditonal harvesting methods. Tobacco sits at the eastern door, which represents the beginning in Anishinaabe traditions. 

Giizhik

Cedar: Thuja Occidentalis 

Giizhik is one of the four sacred medicines gifted by the Creator - sitting in the South on the medicine wheel. When burned, giizhik acts as a purifier, decontaminating the air. Elders say put some in your shoes to not step on anything we shouldn't, to help us walk in a good way, and to walk a good life. 

Giizhik also has many therapeutic & medicinal purposes, Cedar baths and tea are healing and used in fasting and sweat lodge ceremonies. It has anti-inflammatory effects, and improves the functioning of the respiratory organs and circulation. 

Bashkodejiibik

White Sage : Salvia Apiana & Artemisia Ludoviciana 

Bashkodejiibik is used for releasing what is troubling the mind and for removing negative energy. One of the four sacred medicines given to us by the Creator, it's used for cleansing our spirit, spaces and sacred items. Burned as a purifier, bashkodejiibik sits at the western door, representing dagwaagi (autumn) on the medicine wheel. 

Like the mitig (tree), we are letting go of the old, to make space for healing and new growth. Allow the good medicine to bring in new and positive energies. Feel the weight of your shoulders lift, as you embrace the essence of bashkodejiibik.

Wiingashk

Sweetgrass : Hierochloe odorata

One of the four Sacred Medicines- Wiingashk sits at the Northern Door, represented by the colour white. It is known for its beautiful sweet essence, a reminder of the gentleness, love, and kindness mother earth has for us all. 

Braided with twenty-one strands signifying the hair of Mother Earth, the first seven represent those seven generations behind us- who we are because of them. 

The next seven represent the Seven Sacred Teachings; love, respect, honesty, courage, wisdom, truth, and humility. Which we must strive for everyday. The last seven strands are the seven generations in front of us, children yet to be born. And how our decisions today must prioritize those generations to come. Together they represent yesterday, today and tomorrow. Mind, body and spirit. Child, adult, and elder. And like the braid, we are stronger together..