{"id":2475,"date":"2026-08-11T13:20:32","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:20:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/?page_id=2475"},"modified":"2026-08-11T16:13:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T20:13:21","slug":"four-sacred-medicines","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/home\/tour\/four-sacred-medicines\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Sacred Medicines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><a class=\"cl-button  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/\" title=\"\">Homepage: Youngken Medicinal Garden<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><a class=\"cl-button  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/home\/tour\/\" title=\"\">Back to Start: Tour Home<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><a class=\"cl-button  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/home\/tour\/intro\/\" title=\"\">Previous: Storyteller Introduction<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><a class=\"cl-button  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/home\/tour\/cedar\/\" title=\"\">Next: Eastern Red Cedar<\/a><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><a class=\"cl-button  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/home\/tour\/tomaquag-museum\/\" title=\"\">End of Tour: History of Tomaquag Museum<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Four Sacred Medicines are medicinal plants that have been considered essential to Indigenous medicine and ceremony. They typically refer to tobacco, sweetgrass, cedar, and white sage, though Narragansett Tribal communities originally used white pine in place of white sage. However, the use of white sage was eventually adopted into ceremonial use by the tribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns are-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-8f761849 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-top is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"512\" data-id=\"2512\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-1024x512.jpg\" alt=\"Image of tobacco leaves that have been shredded and dried sit against a white background.\" class=\"wp-image-2512\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-300x150.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-768x384.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-364x182.jpg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-500x250.jpg 500w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-1000x500.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w-1280x640.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/tobacco-19997-pixabay_2000w.jpg 2000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Tobacco leaves that have been shredded and dried <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"671\" data-id=\"2518\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Sweetgrass-1-1024x671.jpeg\" alt=\"A brown ceramic plate sits in the center of the image, holding a braid of dried sweetgrass. The braided sweetgrass sits in a circular shape around the plate. \" class=\"wp-image-2518\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Sweetgrass-1-1024x671.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Sweetgrass-1-300x197.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Sweetgrass-1-768x503.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Sweetgrass-1-364x238.jpeg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Sweetgrass-1-500x328.jpeg 500w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Sweetgrass-1-1000x655.jpeg 1000w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Sweetgrass-1.jpeg 1206w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Sweetgrass that has been harvested and braided<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"825\" height=\"825\" data-id=\"2513\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/0000697_eastern-redcedar.jpg\" alt=\"Closeup of a branch of eastern red cedar, which features green, scaly, awl-like leaves. \" class=\"wp-image-2513\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/0000697_eastern-redcedar.jpg 825w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/0000697_eastern-redcedar-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/0000697_eastern-redcedar-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/0000697_eastern-redcedar-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/0000697_eastern-redcedar-364x364.jpg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/0000697_eastern-redcedar-500x500.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 825px) 100vw, 825px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eastern red cedar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"934\" data-id=\"2523\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/sage-unsplash_2000w-1-1024x934.jpg\" alt=\"A set of white sage leaves sits against a light gray background. The leaves are a dark olive green and appear soft and fuzzy. \" class=\"wp-image-2523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/sage-unsplash_2000w-1-1024x934.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/sage-unsplash_2000w-1-300x274.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/sage-unsplash_2000w-1-768x700.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/sage-unsplash_2000w-1-364x332.jpg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/sage-unsplash_2000w-1-500x456.jpg 500w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/sage-unsplash_2000w-1-1000x912.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/sage-unsplash_2000w-1.jpg 1087w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">White sage <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"885\" data-id=\"2521\" src=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Eastern-White-Pine.jpg\" alt=\"Closeup of eastern white pine. There are long, thin, brown branches with many pine needles protruding from the tips. There are three clusters of small orange pollen cones that sit on the tips of the branches, with much shorter pine needles protruding from each cluster. \" class=\"wp-image-2521\" srcset=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Eastern-White-Pine.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Eastern-White-Pine-300x259.jpg 300w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Eastern-White-Pine-768x664.jpg 768w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Eastern-White-Pine-364x315.jpg 364w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Eastern-White-Pine-500x432.jpg 500w, https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1346\/Eastern-White-Pine-1000x864.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Eastern white pine<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<!-- iframe plugin v.6.0 wordpress.org\/plugins\/iframe\/ -->\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/soundcloud%253Atracks%253A2307059522&#038;color=%23ff5500&#038;auto_play=false&#038;hide_related=false&#038;show_comments=true&#038;show_user=true&#038;show_reposts=false&#038;show_teaser=true\" title=\"Four Sacred Medicines\" class=\"iframe-class\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Audio Transcript<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>When we are learning about our traditional medicines, people often bring up the Four Sacred Medicines for Native communities, and that is very much based on inter-tribal community. So, there are medicines that most often show up in traditional ceremony, in those ceremonies that we do cross-culturally, because every tribe was very unique. They had access to certain specific medicines, but the four sacred medicines are the ones that show up most often in ceremony, and that&#8217;s white sage, sweetgrass, tobacco and cedar. Based on where you live, there are so many different varieties of sage, and different types of sage that will be used. So, there&#8217;s sage; there&#8217;s also different varieties of sweetgrass; there\u2019s tobacco that was grown in our traditional gardens; and then there&#8217;s cedars, and again, different varieties based on where you were located.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>For Narragansett tribal communities, we had traditionally access to sweetgrass, tobacco that was grown in our gardens, and cedar \u2013 eastern red cedar, northern white cedar \u2013 but we didn&#8217;t have sage \u2013 that&#8217;s not an Indigenous plant to our region, so that&#8217;s one that has been adopted into use. We utilize sage now in ceremony. A lot of our families are made up of many different tribal nations. So we have adopted in the practice, in the use of that.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n<a class=\"cl-button  \" href=\"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/home\/tour\/cedar\/\" title=\"\">Next: Eastern Red Cedar<\/a>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Four Sacred Medicines are medicinal plants that have been considered essential to Indigenous medicine and ceremony. They typically refer to tobacco, sweetgrass, cedar, and white sage, though Narragansett Tribal communities originally used white pine in place of white sage. However, the use of white sage was eventually adopted into ceremonial use by the tribe. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5523,"featured_media":0,"parent":2470,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2475","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2475","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5523"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2475"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2475\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2648,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2475\/revisions\/2648"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/youngken-garden\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2475"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}