Tobacco Use by Native North Americans: Sacred Smoke and Silent Killer

Tobacco has been the focus of health warnings, lawsuits, and political controversy, but many Native Americans continue to view it as a life-affirming and sacramental substance. This book presents the origins, history, and contemporary use of tobacco by Native Americans, including its cultivation and potential impact on the domestication of food plants. It also analyzes North American Indian practices and beliefs and argues for the preservation of traditional tobacco use in a limited, sacramental manner while criticizing the use of commercial tobacco.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 476 pages
Publication date: 18 October 2022
Publisher: University of Oklahoma Press

Tobacco, recently recognized as a killer, has sparked health warnings, lawsuits, and political controversy. However, many Native Americans still view tobacco, when used properly, as a life-affirming and sacramental substance that holds a significant place in Native creation myths and religious ceremonies. This comprehensive work delves into the origins, history, and contemporary use (and misuse) of tobacco by Native Americans. It explores wild and domesticated tobacco species and their potential role in the domestication of corn, potatoes, beans, and other food plants. Furthermore, it analyzes various North American Indian practices and beliefs, such as the notion that Tobacco is so powerful and sacred that the spirits themselves are addicted to it. The book unveils medical data highlighting the escalating rates of commercial tobacco use among Native youth and the alarming rise in deaths among Native American elders due to lung cancer, heart disease, and other tobacco-related illnesses. Ultimately, this volume advocates for the preservation of traditional tobacco use in a limited, sacramental manner while condemning the use of commercial tobacco.

Contributors to this volume include Mary J. Adair, Karen R. Adams, Carol B. Brandt, Linda Scott Cummings, Glenna Dean, Patricia Diaz-Romo, Jannifer W. Gish, Julia E. Hammett, Robert F. Hill, Richard G. Holloway, Christina M. Pego, Samuel Salinas Alvarez, Lawrence A. Shorty, Glenn W. Solomon, Mollie Toll, Suzanne E. Victoria, Alexander von Garnet, Jonathan M. Samet, and Gail E. Wagner.

Weight: 399g
Dimension: 254 x 178 x 27 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780806191287