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Value Our Traditions/Sacred Tobacco a radio series about reclaiming and honoring traditional American Indian tobacco
Supported by ClearWay Minnesota
In these short radio segments, we feature American Indians from Minnesota, sharing their personal experiences and challenges of quitting commercial tobacco, reclaiming sacred tobacco and honoring their heritage.

Cultural Awakening Around Sacred Practices

Bill from White Earth talks about the cultural awakening around sacred practices and how schools are promoting using tobacco in a good way, rather than commercial smoking.

Breaking the Habit of Commercial Smoking

Frank shares how ceremony and vision, helped him break the habit of smoking.

Grieving Lost Family Members

Marilyn speaks about how she lost her mother and father from the use of commercial tobacco.  Since then, she has learned more about uses of Sacred tobacco and that has been healing.

Using Tobacco in a Good Way

Gina speaks about how our ancestors used tobacco in a good way, and how tobacco is first before everything: it is one of our four sacred gifts.  She says it’s important to teach this to young people, to make sure they use tobacco in a good way, the spiritual way, the way it was intended to be used.

Tobacco for Sacred Healing

Michael from White Earth talks about how traditional tobacco is used in ceremony for sacred healing.

Hypnosis Does the Trick

Linda noticed people turning away from her smoke because she says she always had a cigarette. Linda shares how she got hypnotized to stop. Skeptical as she was, it did the trick.

Creating Better Understanding

Adrian says it’s important that non-Indian people too – have an understanding of what Sacred tobacco is all about, so we can better understand each other.

Hooked for Decades

Dennis talks about how the cravings were so intense, it seemed like he could not go without it. He says he was hooked since smoking in boarding school, in the 60s.  But a health crisis changed that.

Medicine People Teach: Tobacco is Sacred

Kenneth shares how we were taught by medicine people, that tobacco is Sacred.  He says it’s a big part of his heritage. He uses it to pray, and as an offering for prayers.

Positives and Negatives of Tobacco Use

Bill talks about seeing a lot of negative effects of commercial smoking in family and friends, but he also sees the positive effects of cultural uses for tobacco.

Battle to be a Non-Smoker

Lana acknowledges that remaining a non-smoker is hard, even though her health is doing so much better than before she quit.


Supported by...

McKnight FoundationPohlad family foundationThe Minneapolis FoundationSaint Paul & Minnesota Foundation