PLANTS ARE HERE TO GIVE - CHEROKEE MYTH
Cherokee myth on the origin of disease and medicine, which contains several profound truths within its symbolic imagery: At one time all life lived in harmony; plants, insects, & sh, birds, animals and humans all talked to one another and were friends. A time came when man began to multiply and stake his claim on land, slowly pushing the animals and other life forms into the forests and deserts. At this time, man also began to kill animals, not only for food but also for their skins and fur. Th e animals became angry at this treatment from their former friends and the Bear Tribe met in council, led by their Chief, Old White Bear, to discuss what they should do. A ft er several bears described the bloodthirsty actions of man, it was agreed that man and animal were in a state of war with one another. Old White Bear asked what weapons man was using to kill animals, and the bears answered that they were using bows and arrows and that the string for the bow was made from