Native American Sage
Sacred Qualities of Ceremonial Sage Harvested in the Black Hills of South Dakota
By BBM Studios
 To the Native American culture, sage plays a pivotal role in many Lakota ceremonies and is the most popular botanical across the Northern Plains.
A particular variety of sage, grown in the Black Hills of South Dakota, is known by many other common names to include grey sage, prairie sage (after its location), and Sun Dance sage (after the sacred Lakota ceremony). This dried herb is an intimate and sacred element of Plains Indian tribal beliefs and traditions. 
Native Americans have many uses for the sage plant, from sacred ceremonies to the everyday use for healing, purification, and prayer.
“According to Native American belief,” states Dan Tribby, proprietor of this Native American botanical outlet, “sage protects against bad spirits and draws them out of the body or soul.”
Sage smudging is also used to cleanse rooms or areas of negative influence, as well as to purify sacred items such as pipes, drums, and eagle feathers. Sage is also often mixed with tobacco or other herbs and smoked during ceremonies and rituals.
“The sage that we carry is harvested in the Black Hills and by South Dakota native Lakota Sioux people,” states this Dakota sage distributor. “For many ceremonies and purposes, how the sage is harvested, and by whom, is a significant concern – being sure to always honor the earth and cherish traditions, as well as the plant itself.”
This Native American spiritual herb is harvested in June, during the height of its growing cycle, and carefully dried to preserve its essential oils, aromas, and other Lakota-sacred properties. The collection of the sage in June signifies the start of one of the most profound seasonal ceremonial cycles of the Great Plains Indians.
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