Sweetgrass is found throughout the Plains of Central Canada. The indigenous people believe it is one of the gifts of Creator given to us to carry our prayers. It is also said that the animals know that the sweetgrass is sacred and even the buffalo will not eat it.

The three strands of the sweetgrass braid represents the mind, the body and the spirit working together in unity. When you braid your hair or the braid of sweetgrass the prayer is that your mind, body and spirit work together as one. The four strands that hold the braid together represent family and relationship.

The grass is the teacher of kindness, a gift from Mother Earth for she teaches us to be human. We walk n the grass, mow it, burn it and it keeps coming back. People may do that to us in our lives and we need to show kindness and caring by always coming back. The grass has two sides to it, as do we, a rough side and a smooth side.

When the sweetgrass is picked in the summer months, offerings of tobacco and prayer are given to Mother Earth asking her to share her gift of sweetgrass with us for our prayers for the for the up-coming year. We only pick enough for our use for the year. The distinguishing characteristic of sweetgrass are the purple roots.

It is said that when we light the sweetgrass, the grandfathers and grandmothers in the spirit world see us as stars and come close to hear our prayers. Our prayers are carried through the smoke by the grandfathers and grandmothers to Creator.

When we smudge or cleanse ourselves with the smoke, the prayer is that our minds have clarity of thought, that our hands do good work, that our legs walk a straight path, that our hearts are strong and that from our mouth comes the truth.

Sweetgrass is a very special gift and is given great respect by indigenous peoples. When you require a braid for your personal use, tobacco is offered to an Elder/teacher; money is not demanded, however, money may be offered as a gift for the teaching and sweetgrass.

The braid is also seen as representing the past ~our ancestors; the present~ourselves; and the future~the children not yet here. The past, present and future are seen as being in this moment and all that we are is as a result of our ancestors and everything we do today contributes to the children of the future.

~Author Unknown