Joe Pye Weed is a Medicine of great historical significance to the Stockbridge-Munsee Community. This Medicine was used to treat Typhoid fever in the eighteenth century. The preparation and dosage of this Medicine are no longer known to the Community, but it has a rich history relating to the Stockbridge-Munsee People.

The common name of this Medicine is linked to Joseph Shauquethqueat, a Mohican sachem who was among the first generation of Mohicans who lived in the town of Stockbridge, Massachusettes. Shauquethqueat was born in 1722 and was the son of sachem Benjamin Kokhkewenaunaunt.

According to the greater Ashinaabe tradition, Joe Pye is the anglicized spelling of Zhopai, a medicine man who helped cure a community of Indigenous People and European settlers from Typhoid fever. When his Tribe was forcibly removed from New York State, he remained behind, some say he was forced to by settlers.

Joe Pye is said to have gifted his grandchildren a bag of Joe Pye Weed seeds, asking them to spread the seeds on their journey so he could eventually follow their tracks and be reunited with his Tribe.

Make Medicine recipe cards at home!