Ohkehteau (Plants of the Earth): A Shinnecock Oral History - Echinacea
Echinacea (Echinacea species)
Discovery Garden, Visitor Center, Overlook
There are many echinacea species that grow in eastern and central North America; they grow in moist-to-dry prairies and open wooded areas. The species that I am most familiar with from my homeland is the species that has narrow petals. Echinacea is used as an immune stimulant and an antibiotic. It can help treat coughs, colds, bronchitis, upper respiratory infections, gingivitis, influenza, canker sores, yeast infections, or ear infections.
Plants of the Earth
Ohkehteau (Plants of the Earth): A Shinnecock Oral History highlights native plants around Brooklyn Botanic Garden and the ways that Indigenous peoples use and know them. On your self-guided tour, hear Chenae Bullock tell stories passed down to her and describe traditional uses for plants, including medicines that have been used for thousands of years
“It’s hard to protect what you cannot recognize. This tour was made with good intent to share the value of the plants and in turn, protect our Earth.” —Chenae Bullock
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Chenae Bullock is an enrolled Shinnecock Indian Nation tribal member and a descendant of the Montauk Tribe in Long Island, New York. Chenae is a community leader, water protector, cultural preservationist, Indigenous perspective historian, and humanitarian and has worked at many accredited Indigenous museums. She is the author of 50 Plant Medicines: Indigenous Oral History and Perspective, on which this exhibit is based.
