Without looking for causes, the Native American usually treated the symptons of illnesses. Nausea and vomitting, when not self-induced prior to ceremonies, were treated with various plant preparations.
Sharp-Leaved Beardtongue:
The leaves of the perennial sharp-leaved beardtongue were steeped in warm water by the Blackfoot Indians who drank the resulting tea to stop vomitting.
Low Running Blackberry:
To arrest violent vomitting, the Kwakiutls of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, boiled the peeled roots and vines of low running blackberry together with thimbleberry and drank the astringent liquid.
Rocky Mountain Maple:
The Thompson Indians of British Columbia drank a decoction of boiled Rocky Mountain Maple bark and wood to cure nausea, especially when it was brought about by the odor of a corpse.
This is a small shrub or tree seldom growing above thirty-five feet in height. It's leaves has three to five lobes and senate edges. The flowers are yellowish green, and the typical maple "wings" are between four and six inches wide.
This short maple is found near streams and on hillsides throughout the Rocky Mountain region - north to Montanna and south to Arizona.
Wild Mint:
The Cheyennes prepared a decoction of the ground leaves and stems of wild mint and drank the liquid to check nausea. Pulegone and thymol are derived from an oil of wild mint.
This is the only native species of mint in America, spearmint and peppermint having been naturalized from Europe. Wild mint is easily distinguised from the other mints by it's whorled flowers which are borne in the axils of the leaves.
The other species of mint bear their flowers in the upper portion of their stems. It's odor resembles that of peppermint. The species is common on stream banks throughout America.(The leaves make an excellant tea.)
In their part of the country, the Penobscots prepared a tea of alder bark to alleviate nausea and vomitting, while in the region of the Mississippi-Louisiana boundary, the Houma tribe prepared a decoction of the boiled roots of ginseng.
Self-induced vomitting on a daily basis was frequently practiced in many tribes. This was considered to be a purifying experience and also a means of obtaining strength prior to a hunting or war expedition. To accomplish this, mechanical means were employed (a feather tickling the back of the throat) as were other nonbotanical methods, such as the ingestion of large quanities of warm, salty water.
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