Indigenous

 

Food and Medicinal Uses:

Sth'á:qel tea is used to treat abdominal cramps, diarrhea, and dysentery.

Its sticky juice was rubbed on gums as a topical anesthetic when extracting teeth.

It is also a medicine for burns and scalds, sores, boils, wounds, inflammation.

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Other Uses:

Sth'á:qel leaves were woven into mats using th'éxth'ex (stinging nettle) twine and mat needles made from qá:thelhp (oceanspray). These mats were used for temporary shelters, to insulate walls and floors, to sleep on, and to cover doors. Mats were even traded with Indigenous groups from the Interior of B.C.

The fluff was used to stuff pillows, dress wounds, and for diapers.