Guest Blogger: Arthur Haines - How Being Healthy Protects Drinking Water

Once again I have the honour of welcoming my good friend Arthur's words onto this blog. In the near future I will be interviewing Arthur on the Living the Thirteen Moons Podcast. If you wish to know more about him, check out the Delta Institute of Natural History, or his Youtube Channel.  The reason I wanted this on my blog is three-fold. The first and foremost reason is because I care about water quality, for both us and the environment itself. This reason is enough for me to want this sort of knowledge on here. However I also work at a wonderful program called TRACKS Youth Outreach, which focuses on teaching Native and non-Native youth about science, especially environmental science. You can find us on Facebook here. We have been teaching a lot about water health and what our people in Western culture can do to protect the water that is on this big, beautiful planet. This is another good reason to pass on this information regarding water health. Finally, with the recent proceedings here in Canada, we have lost a lot of fundamental protection for our lakes, rivers and streams. It is up to us now as citizens to do our part to take care of our waterways. This again is a fundamental reason as to why this article is vital for our continuing survival, not to mention our current environment's. So a big big miigwetch to Arthur Haines, and without further adieu...

How Being Healthy Protects Drinking Water

First, let’s build awareness of the issue: pharmaceutical drugs (among other chemicals) are routinely detected in public drinking water supplies here in the United States. One of the primary sources of these drugs is people--specifically, those who use pharmaceutical drugs. When you use a drug (prescription or over-the-counter) some of that drug passes un-metabolized through your body and is excreted into the septic system. Those drugs then enter the ground water or sewer systems (depending on where you live) and ultimately end up in the bodies of wild animals or in the bodies of people (especially if you live in an area with waste water treatment facilities that recycle water for drinking). So, to summarize this paragraph, many people in metropolitan areas (and some people in rural areas) are being exposed to low, constant doses of antibiotic, antifertility, pain-relieving, and mood-altering medications. Even aquifers have been found to be contaminated by synthetic medicines.

The amount of these drugs in the public water system is low (it would be described as trace). That has led many water suppliers to claim there is no harm caused by the presence of these compounds. However, no test has shown that exposure is safe (especially in the long run) and some recent research finds that harm is being caused. Remember that most medicine is to be taken for a short time and then discontinued. But when you get low doses in your drinking water, you are constantly exposed to a myriad of chemicals--in one review, 63 drugs were found during testing in watersheds around cities and 56 of those were in the public water supply. These low dose medicines in the water have been shown to slow growth of human embryonic kidney cells, speed cancer cell proliferation, and alter blood cell activity. Further, there is evidence that adding chlorine, a common component of urban drinking water, makes the pharmaceutical drugs more toxic. There is no doubt that some wildlife species are being affected. For example, male fish in some areas are being feminized.

So, what do you do about this? Well, you may decide to drink only spring water. That would protect you and your family (note: your home filtration system was likely not designed to remove trace amounts of pharmaceutical drugs). But what about those people who can’t afford bottled water? And what about the other-than-human-persons we share this world with? This is a case where we need to be unselfish. Drugs in the water supply are going to come back to harm us. What if your child lives or one day moves to a metropolitan area and becomes exposed to these compounds? The solution for this dilemma is that we need to be healthier. We need to ingest fewer drugs, wash and adorn ourselves with more eco-friendly products (because those end up in the water as well), and even consider what our toilet paper is doing to the world (recycled paper contains Bisphenol-A, an endocrine disruptor, which also ends up in the water supply).

Regardless of your diet and lifestyle, most people will become ill and be in need of medicine at some point in their life. This is where I encourage people to turn to natural products, even better, those medicines that they gather from the landscapes around their homes. These plants and fungi are ever present in the ecosystem. They are eaten by animals (who excrete them into the environment). They decay in the fall, releasing minerals and various natural compounds. They are all around us, in the leaf litter and in the ground water, and anyone who spends time in the outdoors is constantly exposed to them. Based on what we know, constant exposure to wild plant phytochemicals has a role in generating health (so long as toxins are avoided). Hypothetically, if I were to ingest staghorn sumac for an infection, I would ultimately be excreting chemicals that are already found in the watershed (where I gathered them in the first place). There is no introduction of new or synthetic compounds. No need to gain resistance to novel drugs. No need to worry about the secondary impacts.

Being healthy is the primary way we protect our water supplies from pharmaceutical drugs. Using natural medicine is the second line of defense. Of course, the over-arching principle here is that we need to be aware of what our actions do to the world (and the many ways that poor health hurts everyone, not just the person afflicted with the ailment). Remember: humans did not weave the web of life, they are merely a strand in it. Whatever humans do to the web, they do to themselves (adapted from Chief Seattle).

Meat and preparing for the cold times.

Back in early November, my cousin got his first deer. A lot of emotions are brought up for a person when they see a large animal die right in front of them. Rabbits, ducks and fish are just as important, and I am not discrediting their deaths as non-emotional or anything like that. However to see something as large as a deer, or bear or moose die for the first time is for many of us extremely moving.

I remember getting my first deer (only a few years ago, even though I have been hunting for literally half of my life), and how messed up it left me for a long few weeks. I had caught, killed and cleaned many a fish and bird. I had butchered countless deer and moose. Death of a fellow moving, breathing creature was definitely not something new for me. However as I watched the deer (a young but very large buck) seem to suddenly freeze on impact from my slug penetrating his chest and abdomen, and then keel over as if his legs were made out of rebar rather than tendons and muscles, it effected me in a way that to this day I cannot fully explain. I was happy, but disturbed. I knew I had just provided for my family. Acquired a hide and brains for new material. I knew the bones and sinew would bless me with more supplies. But to see a life drain out of an anima with such sudden swiftness (he thrashed for but a moment) is truly emotional. I take the subject of catching any animal very seriously -regardless of size or species. But at the same time, it is joyful. I whoop. I shout. I even laugh. However during that, I do what my people have always done; I pour water into the animal's mouth, I offer tobacco in thanks, I sing a small song of gratitude. I make sure the being sees the western sky. These things are tasks many Anishnaabe men (and women) feel obligated to do for the animal whose life we extinguished. Its' a give and take. The animal has done their work (sacrificed themselves' for us), now it is our turn to make good on the deal: by making sure we honour the animal.

However, this does not mean jokes are taboo, or banished. We laugh, and joke; "Holy crap this deer's liver is big enough to belong to a Frat Boy!", or "That goose is small enough to be a duck!". This is not disrespect in our eyes. Its' having fun with the animal who is still present. Teasing is a sign of affection in countless Native cultures here in Canada, just as it is in many non-Natve cultures. However, for us, it is really the way of life. Joking, and comedy are what bond all humans, and to find something humorous in an emotional moment is really a beautiful thing.

In this video, myself and my cousin butcher the deer that he caught just the night before. We skinned her in the dark, as we don't use knives between the gutting and butchering process. We skin the deer immediately after it is hung up, as this cools the deer, and is much faster than if we left the hide on for too long. It is also much better for the hide, as decomposition can happen in mere hours in the right circumstances. You won't hear much dialogue other than the joking (which I mentioned a moment ago). But it shows almost every step taken after the skin and head are removed.

I want to say a few things about this deer. I cannot speak on behalf of my cousin. I do not know if he went through the same emotions as I have. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't. I do know however that this deer was taken down with the most humane of a shot any hunter could ask for. She maybe ran 40 feet in total, if that. We tracked her immediately, and very early on we could tell she would be dead just around the corner. It was a clean kill, and she never suffered. We found her within two minutes of tracking, and she was already passed on. It was the perfect shot. I was there when she was seen, I was there when she was shot, and I helped with every step of the process once that deer was hit. I am very honest when I say that I am proud of my cousin, and was deeply honoured to be able to share that moment with him. It is a moment that I know will live on with him for the rest of his life.

While we are on the subject of meat, maybe I should discuss some further developments regarding acquiring meat. The goose we caught was a winged bird that another hunter had shot earlier in the day. We saw the young northern Canada goose hiding under a dock, and it was very clear that the wing was severely damaged. It was part mercy, and part need for food. I got in my canoe and when I tried to get him, he had paddled away! He was struggling to stay above the water, and even then got well over a kilometre from shore before I caught up to him. This shows the tenacity of wildlife when survival is on the line. I have seen a squirrel get hit with a broadhead from twenty feet away, and still run through seven different trees before finally succumbing to the injury. I have tracked a lung-shot deer for over two kilometres. Once I was within range, he was put out of his pain very swiftly with a twelve-gauge shotgun blast to the head. He was dead on impact. Once again, I took tobacco out and offered him thanks. I opened his mouth and let him have a drink, and while paddling back to shore, I sang him a song of gratitude, always keeping his head facing west.

Beyond meat that has already been acquired, I have a few projects underway. This weekend I will be purchasing some steel rods. I will be basement-forging them into special spikes made specifically for spearfishing. The Anisnaabeg are well known for their history as fishermen, especially with fish fences, and with spears. I will be making the shafts six or seven feet long out of cedar. This is because cedar is straight and light. Once done, two spikes that are seven inches long and barbed all the way up. We live where pickerel, bass, pike and perch all flourish, and our ancestors' way of life revolved around spearfishing.

The other project is the buckthorn bow. This project was originally a theory I had after spending a week with Mors Kochanski. The theory was that I could take a dense, yet elastic wood, that is an invasive specie that is overwhelming our forests, and produce serviceable and strong bows from it. Purging Buckthorn is a very invasive tree that overshadows other forest plants and goes to leaf earlier and remains in leaf longer than most of our native hardwoods. So my goal was to be able to give our native trees a bit of an advantage, be repeatedly cutting back the buckthorn, and using it for tasks (knife and axe handles, basketry material, bows and lodge poles) and leave our native trees be. So far the theory I had ha already been proven by a gentleman over at Primitive Archer, and even Quicky Bows I have seen made by Skeet Sutherland from Sticks and Stones Wilderness School. However, ever being the man trying to return to a traditional Anishnaabe diet and lifestyle, I have decided to produce an Ojibwa style Flatbow from this wood. If you want to see a good example of an Ojibwa bow, check out this video from my friend Mike at Boarrior Bows. This in my eyes is something very important and specific, as my people are currently struggling with the idea of self-determination through decolonization. In my eyes, we cannot go back in time. We must move forward, and with that, we must accept modern influences, or at least introduce western materials into our more "primitive" technologies. A good example is beer bottle glass arrowheads, such as the one produced in the video of Brian from TrackersNW. These are very popular and very very effective. I have also made knives, and spearheads from the glass from old televisions. I've been saving a good piece to later make into a clovis point, such as the one being made in this video with stone. My belief is that if we take traditional technology and philosophies, and blend them with the materials available now by recycling and reusing, it can be a lot better for all of us. Again, which would be better for our environment? Practising our traditional skills with materials that are already at risk (one of the best woods in this part of Canada is white ash, which is being targetted by the Emerald Ash Borer), or with materials that are invading or causing problems in our environment (such as purging buckthorn)?

So as we speak, I have several three-inch and four-inch diameter staves of purging buckthorn seasoning in my house for the winter. I stripped the bark, and dipped the ends in pine pitch to prevent cracking. By Baakade Giizis (The Hunger Moon/February), I will be able to start shaping them into traditional style bows.

I should have a video up sometime next week about the fishing spear making. Hope you all enjoy it!

Guest Blogger: Arthur Haines, on the science of Jewelweed.

When I was growing up and learning traditional wilderness skills, I kept being told I had to check out MPSS, or Maine Primitive Skills School. When I finally figured out Google, I typed in those four words, and suddenly I was seeing people doing the skills that I loved to do, and making a living at it. These guys weren't just talking about living with traditional skills in their lives, but they were doing it. It was really the inspiration that started my career as an instructor.

Over the years I have followed along with their videos on Youtube, and other subjects, and two people kept coming to light. The first was Mike Douglas, the founder of the school, and the other was a gentleman named Arthur Haines. I have gotten to know both of them over the internet, and I can tell you, these guys deserve a great deal of respect for what they have preserved for future generations. whose runs the Delta Institute of Natural History, where he works diligently to reverse Human Domestication. On his very cool Youtube channel I have watched Arthur discuss exactly what I said earlier in my Introductions blog regarding the Paleo-Diet and the inaccuracies. To be honest, Arthur's clear and educated explanations were one of the main reasons I decided to return to the Thirteen Moons Calendar as a diet guide. Arthur came upon my blog, and was interested in helping shed some light into the subject I discussed in my blog about the Seasonal Food of the Raspberry Moon, regarding Jewelweed's use against poison ivy. So, without further adieu, here is a very interesting, eye-opening article regarding the science behind how Jewelweed can be used to combat poison ivy, by Arthur D. Haines.

"Species of poison-ivy, poison-sumac, and poison-oak are members of the genus Toxicodendron, which means “poison tree”. These woody plants have received this name because they contain an irritating organic compound called urishiol. Urishiol causes the familiar, itchy rash after contact with the leaves and stems of these plants. It is believed to bind to specific receptor sites on the skin. Of note is that urishiol is alcohol soluble (i.e., it is difficult to wash it off the skin with water alone; soap or some kind of soap-like substance is needed).

Enter touch-me-not (Impatiens spp.). These plants with showy, bee-pollinated flowers are also called jewelweed because the leaves take on a silvery sheen when placed underwater. Touch-me-nots are also well-known for their fruits—a capsule that explosively dehisces when touched to project its seeds some distance from the parent plant. This trait has given rise to the Passamaquoddy name apuckolotukkuwewossok, which means “little one that flips upside-down”, a reference to the fruit.

Touch-me-nots contain a red pigment in their vegetation called lawsone. Lawsone is particularly effective at helping to treat recent contact with poison-ivy, because this phytochemical binds to the same receptor sites as urishiol. Beneficially for us, lawsone is more aggressive at binding to these sites on our skin and doesn’t cause an allergic reaction. Therefore, if the crushed stems (which yield the sap) of touch-me-not are applied to areas that have had recent contact with poison-ivy, the lawsone protects us from getting the rash. Two items to note: (1) touch-me-not is best used to prevent the rash from ever occurring, as it has a protective effect for our skin and (2) the most potent parts of the plants are those with obvious red coloration (these are usually near the base of the plants and along the stem where leaves and branches are produced).

Once you have a rash caused by poison-ivy, the effectiveness of touch-me-not is reduced, because it is best used to protect us from ever getting the rash (I’ve been hours after contact with poison-ivy and still prevented the rash from occurring using touch-me-not). It may be best at this point to switch to some type of astringent remedy. Astringents are plants that contain compounds that cause contraction of tissue, which is useful for alleviating inflammation. By reducing the swelling caused by the rash, the itchiness is reduced. Plants containing astringent compounds include sweet-fern (Comptonia peregrina), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), and staghorn sumac (Rhus hirta). By making a strong tea from the inner bark and/or branchlets and applying a cloth soaked with this tea, one can help reduce the discomfort caused by the rash."