English

Arapaho

Translation of the Arapaho

‘ghost tears’

Lichen and the Arapaho

Drug: eye medicine. A certain lichen (Evernia vulpina?) grows among sagebrush on the reservation. It grows on the ground in a flatish, greenish, form. The lichens are dried, pounded and mixed with water (boiled to tea? decocted?) to make a wash for the eyes. This use continues today.

Drug: dermatological aid. A “little green lichen that grows on the rocks” is boiled to produce a treatment for skin rash, acne, scabies, and similar problems.