Plants Are Our Relatives: Exploring Ancestral Wisdom and the 5 Rs of Herbalism

2025-08-12

I thought I had a pretty deep connection with plants. I mean, this podcast is literally about talking to them (and about them). But after 300+ episodes, this is the only conversation that impacted my daily interaction with plants. My guest, LoriAnn Bird, an Indigenous Métis herbalist and author of Revered Roots, introduced a concept of “plants as our relatives.” Elders. Teachers. Sovereign beings. And once you start viewing them that way, you can’t unsee it. You will realize that we all need to take care of what takes care of us. Listen in and joi...

I thought I had a pretty deep connection with plants. I mean, this podcast is literally about talking to them (and about them). But after 300+ episodes, this is the only conversation that impacted my daily interaction with plants. My guest, LoriAnn Bird, an Indigenous Métis herbalist and author of Revered Roots, introduced a concept of “plants as our relatives.” Elders. Teachers. Sovereign beings. And once you start viewing them that way, you can’t unsee it. You will realize that we all need to take care of what takes care of us. Listen in and join the conversation!

In this episode, we learn:

[04:56] What does “ indigenous plants” mean for LoriAnn?
[06:18] How LoriAnn developed her close relationship with nature
[08:51] What it means to be a Métis woman
[10:39] Being raised in a privileged Eurocentric view
[12:10] How herbalism came into LoriAnn’s life
[14:53] Gift a soothing and personalized Wind River Chime for any special occasion, and get a free engraving!
[17:06] Why the book was structured to start with relationships
[17:41] The 5 Rs of plant relationship
[24:17] Understanding our relatives: rooted, stone, and flying nations
[28:44] What's the connection between humans and birds?
[30:29] The story of “Sky Woman”
[32:03] Birth, life, death, rebirth - continuous cycles
[33:39] Honorable harvest and reciprocal foraging
[35:58] Asking permission from landowners when foraging
[38:19] How to get started with herbalism
[39:47] Your garden may already be full of medicine
[41:11] Where to get the book ‘Revered Roots’
[43:00] Meet your local herbalist!
[43:19] "Ancestral" vs "indigenous" in the book title

Mentioned in our conversation:

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Don Ollsin
Doug Tallamy - Co-Founder of Homegrown National Park
Mary Reynolds | We Are The Ark
Merlin Bird ID
WebMD

If you're looking to connect deeper with your plants and with the world,

check out LoriAnn's guide in the full show notes and blog.

Thank you to our episode sponsor:Wind River Chimes

Visit windriverchimes.com and use code GROWINGJOY to receive free engraving on your chosen wind chimes.

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