Speakers: Andrea Sullivan, ND and Marc Williams, MA   For far too long the contributions of African Americans and their ancestors have been ignored or falsified. Contributions to naturopathic medicine are no exceptions. The “secret doctors” on the plantations were never mentioned in my naturopathic education, and yet many of the herbs used on the plantations were studied in class. African slaves were not allowed to read or write, thus much of the learning was by experimentation and word of mouth. There was a knowledge of the medicinal value of plants and similarities in the plants between the Southern States and West Africa. The herbs used by the “secret doctors ” were a welcome alternative, in many instances, to the medicine of the plantation owners. These plants included: Verbascum thapsus, Ocimum spp, Artemisia absinthium, Dioscorea cayenensis subspecies rotundata and Lycopodiella cernua, among others.

Related product: The PowerPoints for this recording are available here: 2022 Southwest Conference on Botanical Medicine: Conference Book Download (PDF)

  Also available in video (for purchase separately on Vimeo).

Naturopathic Continuing Education:

• Oregon Board of Naturopathic Medicine (OBNM)
• Arizona SCNM (Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine)