28/01/2022
Beloved ancestor and freedom fighter Harriet Tubman is one of our biggest heroes. We don't only remember her as a runaway enslaved African or a conductor of the Underground Railroad, we also remember her as an herbalist, wildcrafter, and freedom forager.
Harriet used her knowledge of plants to heal Black and white soldiers in the Union army during the Civil War and to keep her passengers safe on the Underground Railroad. She famously cured a soldier who was dying from dysentery by concocting a medicinal infusion made from water lilies and cranesbill. She also used herbal remedies such as bread dosed with tinctures made from o***m poppies to quiet babies on the Underground Railroad, as to not give away the position of those she was guiding to freedom.
Harriet also had to gather sustenance for the many journeys along the Underground Railroads, and in order to keep everyone fed she relied on her foraging skills.
