A wild tobacco plant.
A simple throwing of seeds has grown into a feel good story: When Julietta Sorensen Kass tried to grown her own ceremonial tobacco in the city and ended up with more than she knew what to do with, she turned to her community.
Julietta had no way of knowing that trying to simply grown enough tobacco for traditional ceremonies would turn into a connection and a reminder of how communities come together. When she realized she had more tobacco than she needed, she turned to social media. She had great success, with people even offering gifts in exchange for the extra tobacco, like cedar and sage.
One of the people who responded was Debra Roulette. Normally, Debra uses store bought cigarette tobacco for ceremonies, but said the chemicals can leave her with a headache. She offered Juiletta a batch of fresh made bannock – Debra’s mother’s recipe. The idea was so good, Sorensen Kass even invited her mother to enjoy the fry bread together.
Despite the tricky access to tobacco seeds, Federal rules allow adults in a household to grow as much as 15 kilograms of raw leaf tobacco annually without a license, provided it’s only for personal use. That amount is typically equal to 150 to 200 plants.
Comments