Large Fierce Mammal

Laurie Lacey, Medicine Man

In the world of Man we have seen grocery stores expand their services to incorporate pharmacies while pharmacies have opened extensively stocked grocery departments so that, store name notwithstanding, the distinction between the two is becoming blurred. Most so called “department stores” have gone that way too in the inexorable quest to be all things to all people. Society has been infused with the idea that nothing is safe to eat unless it comes from a store shelf bearing a government stamp of approval, and any ailment can be addressed by the magic of officially sanctioned medical science, whose mysteries we are not meant to understand. Governments openly espouse legislation prohibiting the growing of food outside of approved farming operations on the grounds that people doing so on their own constitute a threat to their own health, and anyone else who might come into contact with their produce. All of this in the face of one inexorable fact – that whether harvested from tilled field or forest, deep ocean or aquaculture, powered by sun or wind, only Nature is all things to all people, and She marches to her own rhythm.

I have spent over 40 years learning, practicing, honing, teaching, and enjoying the skills of self-reliance in the wild, and in so doing have found a fulfilling kinship, community, and oneness with Nature. Along the way I was joined by Mrs. LFM who has walked that path with me for the past decade. The most important lesson learned very early on, and constantly reinforced, is that most of the “problems” people grapple with daily are artificial ones imposed by human society rather than those that truly matter to any creature of the Earth. Inside the protective bubble of 21st century urban centered human society, it’s theoretically possible to live a successful and happy life based on definitions of “success” and “happiness” that are built on a sense of entitlement to constant and uninterrupted access to credit, cellular telephones, the internet, 911, well connected cronies, and anything else that maintains comfort while keeping heat, cold, power interruptions, supply shortages, and the ranks of the Great Unwashed out of sight and, therefore, out of mind. At its highest level, when G8 and G20 “leaders” meet, we see an example of what I’m talking about as stately pleasure domes are erected at great public expense wherein these modern princes can pontificate in peace while lines of riot police guard the walls that keep the inconvenient truth at bay. Yet this is a fragile version of success because, while humans pretend, Nature’s Truth prevails – before the convenience of social status comes the most basic foundation of survival. True success by Her standards springs from the question of whether or not one has a reasonable expectation of access to clean water, shelter, and food. Beyond that, access to meaningful knowledge, the tools to magnify the power of mind, body, and spirit, and to community with others who can be called upon to bring their own special powers to the party. Of such is born the strength of self-reliance – in the individual, the family, the clan, the community, and beyond.

It’s said that the more we learn, the more we come to realize how much more there is to learn, but I regard this description as being far too limiting, task oriented, and dripping with drudgery – as in the further down the road you go, the more you come to realize how much farther you have still to travel. I take a more exploratory angle on this. While the acquisition of knowledge certainly serves to highlight the need for more knowledge in those of us who thirst for it in our quest for that state called “Wisdom”, I see each thing learned as a lamp that further serves to light the way. Each lamp illuminates where we are as it sheds its glow upon what was previously unseen, while at the same time permitting us to perceive new paths diverging into the gloom, each leading who knows where? Of such is born the spirit of exploration and enlightenment!

Mrs. LFM and I are on such a quest, always following those dim paths one by one. In our explorations we have found that, sometimes in the darkness, another lamp is seen in the distance, carried by one who knows that path well, and has knowledge of the most fundamentally important kind. Such a lamp bearer is Laurie Lacey.

Laurie Lacey and Rita Baruss in the field. Click the image to enlarge. (Mrs. LFM photo)

The forests, fields, and shorelines of Nova Scotia abound with flora that have medicinal and culinary properties long since lost to the ken of even those of us who have spent decades walking blindly in their midst. The Mi’kmaq people (commonly spelled “Micmac” in English) who inhabited Nova Scotia when the first European settlers arrived had an extensive knowledge of the native plants, and understood both their nutritional and medicinal uses. While this plant wisdom may not be wide spread today, that is not to say it has been lost altogether, and I am happy to attest that to follow that path is as simple as calling upon Laurie Lacey.

Widely respected as a paleobotanist, writer, lecturer, and specialist in the traditional plant/tree medicines of the Native peoples of North America
Laurie describes himself as a freelance writer, researcher, naturalist, plant/tree medicine maker, and artist. All of this is true but, as with most talented people, it only scratches the surface. Soft spoken but incredibly energetic, with a razor sharp wit and a joie de vivre that even shines out of photographs that are taken of him, Mrs. LFM and I were honoured a couple weekends back with an afternoon medicine walk in the company of Laurie Lacey and his talented Lady, Rita Baruss. Along the way, I was happy to make my own meagre contribution by educating Rita on the subject of one of Nova Scotia’s indigenous carnivorous plants – the Sundew. At least I think I was educating her – Rita may have been humouring me, but if she was she was most convincing.

The “Spoonleaf” Sundew plant (Drosera intermedia, one of three  sundew species indigenous to Nova Scotia) in all its mucilagenous glory. Click the image to expand. (source http://www.blupete.com/Nature/Wildflowers/Sundew.htm)

Anyone worth learning from makes no pretense of being a finished product, and such people are perpetual students invigorated by their passion, A true teacher can effortlessly blend his own quest with that of his students, and Laurie is no exception. He has acquired his knowledge over more than three decades, some of it following what most consider the traditional path – he has studied Anthropology and Psychology at King’s College and Dalhousie University – and most importantly to my mind, he has been privy to the teachings of Mi’kmaq Elders in the ways of plant medicine.

In its truest form, the term “medicine” far transcends the very limiting definition of common usage. As employed by the Mi’kmaq, it refers to all the physical and spiritual properties inherent in a thing. Used in reference to a plant or animal, it encompasses every possible resource that fellow being may be called upon to provide; in every season, wasting nothing, always harvested with the utmost respect and thankfulness. When you walk with Laurie Lacey, you will learn much more if you are attentive not only with your mental and physical senses, but also with your spirit.

Physically, Laurie is a force of Nature. With a twinkling eye, a ready laugh, and one leg that won’t bend at the knee, he outnimbles the wildly unforgiving Nova Scotia terrain with a skill and speed that must be seen to be believed. On the fly he’s nonetheless constantly at one with his surroundings, and ever ready to halt at a particular plant to explain its role in Nature, its use by the Mi’kmaq, maybe even to tell a story of how it was used to ease the ailments of a family member in the days before a trip to the drug store was a viable option.

Laurie has published a number of books that are well worth inclusion in the library of anyone whose interest I’ve held to this point, and two of which are still in publication:

Micmac Medicines: Remedies and Recollections (1993, Nimbus Publishers, Halifax, N. S. ISBN# 1-55109-041-4) can be found stocked in some book stores, craft, and museum shops, and book sellers can, of course, order it directly from Nimbus. Nimbus recently advised Laurie that they want to release a new edition in spring 2012 incorporating a new cover and updated material on his part. He’s excited to say the least!

Medicine Walk: Reconnecting to Mother Earth (1999, Nimbus Publishers, Halifax, N.S. ISBN# 1-55109-306-5) can likewise be found in the same venues as Micmac Medicines: Remedies and Recollections, but as of today there are no known plans for a new edition. A review of this work can be found here.

Both books are available through Amazon. In addition, Laurie has a number of manuscripts in the mill, including a collection of short stories. We used to say that if we had to spend a year on Sable Island and could take only one other living creature along for companionship, Mrs. LFM and I would take an Australian Cattle Dog. No offense to Rita, but we now think we’d also smuggle Laurie in carry on.

Laurie also has an extensive presence on the internet:

Laurie Lacey’s rendering of the Titanic sinking appears in Lawrence Jackson’s book, “Castles in the Sea: All About Icebergs”, 2000, p. 27

Wild World of Plants – just what it implies!

Natural Healing Talk – by all means subscribe to his e-mail news letter of the same name.

His fine art website that exposes more traditional aspects of the artist in the man.

The Way of the Crow, that particularly speaks to me since both Laurie and I are Crow/Raven people. This is the website for the online version of his book Black Spirit: The Way of the Crow. First published in 1996, it’s now regrettably out of print, but all is not lost because Laurie republished it as an eBook under the title The Way of the Crow in 2007, and you can read it by clicking the title.

As if that wasn’t enough, he has, as he told me in an e-mail leading up to this article, “A couple of blogs that I used to update fairly regularly. They may or may not be continued. I haven’t decided their fate. :)”

Whatever he decides, you should give them at least a once-over before Laurie jumps out of bed one night and decides the axe must fall. They are:

The Nature Writer’s Digs; and

Ol’ Coyote’s Chronicles, Creative Writing Blog.

To make contact with Laurie Lacey you can use any of the methods he has embedded in his websites, and he can also be found on Facebook.

I’ll conclude with some photos Mrs. LFM took on our recent expedition, but aside from identifying the common names of plants involved, I’ll refrain from including any detailed information. In the botanical world, published material can only supplement the hands-on teaching of a Mentor, and you can’t do better than Laurie Lacey. Mrs. LFM and I will be following his teachings through every season. Clicking a picture will enlarge it a mite.

Aster

Bay Berry

Boneset

Club Moss

Large Cranberry

Dogwood AKA Bunchberry

One of many frogs encountered on the trek. There was a Garter Snake too that declined to be photographed.

Canada Holly

Huckleberry

Meadowrue

We were not able to positively identify this berry bearing plant at the time (Laurie believes it to be a Viburnum and will confirm that soon), but the ants clearly approved of it.

Laurie and me. The lake and surrounding woods share a common history with the Lacey clan.

Sumac Berries – this late in the season they’re a bit past their “best before” date.

Sumac Leaf

Sweet Fern – not really a fern at all.

Sweet Gale late season blossom.

Sweet Gale leaves.

Wild Sarsaparilla

Teaberry (commonly called Wintergreen) – I paused to freshen my breath!

Witch Hazel