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| and thus display a supernatural ability. Others chewed the root to numb the mouth in order to hold a hot coal in it, a very common traditional medical practice among many tribes. It was also used as an anesthetic when performing minor surgeries. The present-day Oglala Sioux of Pine Ridge, South Dakota continue to use echinacea for a variety of reasons, including toothache.5,6 |
| With the influx of Europeans to the plains, many new diseases were introduced, including mumps, measles, a wide variety of other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and smallpox, and a host of sexually transmitted diseases including syphilis and gonorrhea, all of which Native Americans had never before been exposed to. As civilization brought new diseases, therapeutic applications of echinacea expanded as a means to try to deal with them, apparently with some success. Early writers referred to echinacea as a premier remedy for the treatment of gonorrhea and syphilis. |
| In addition to its medicinal uses, echinacea was also used by Pawnee children in a game in which the stems were twirled around each other. Many tribes used the spiny seed head as a hair comb and many chewed on the root to stimulate salivation as a means to allay thirst. |
| Early Use by Europeans |
| The earliest written record of non-Native American medicinal use of echinacea was reported in the second edition of Flora Virginica by Gronovius in 17627 where it was reported to "possess a sharp-tasting root," and was said to be very effective for the treat- |
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