Review of "Nanise’: A Navajo Herbal- One Hundred Plants from the Navajo Reservation" by Barbara Bayless Lacy and Vernon O. Mayes

Score: 94+/100 (9.4+ out of 10)

This might not be our area of interest or our cup of tea, but we HAVE to give credit where credit is due: this is a phenomenal resource book for what it is! So much thought, time, research, and effort must've gone into putting this together. And that's not even mentioning the marvelously detailed black-and-white illustrations by Jack Ahasteen and Jason Chee!

Gosh, if you sat us down and told us, "Today, you're gonna read a book about plants," we would've told you, "Do we have to?!"

But this book doesn't feel like that. It's actually quite interesting!

Nanise’: A Navajo Herbal is a reference-style ethnobotanical book, originally published by Navajo Community College Press in 1989 and republished by Book Street Press/Story Monsters LLC in the 2023 edition. Our friends over at Story Monsters LLC always put their weight behind great, extraordinary works like this!

As we alluded to before, this isn't really a “sit down and follow the plot” kind of book. It is more like a cultural field guide, botanical archive, and respectful educational doorway into Navajo plant knowledge. And, quite frankly, that knowledge is invaluable when you consider the cultural impact of preserving it.

The book covers 100 plants from the Navajo Reservation, an area described as roughly 25,209 square miles across parts of Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. Each entry typically gives the plant’s common name, scientific name, Navajo name, physical description, where it grows, traditional uses, and references.

What makes it special is that the book does not treat plants as random “ingredients.” It frames them as part of a living cultural, spiritual, practical, and ecological system. The introduction emphasizes that Navajo plant use is connected to food, medicine, religion, creation stories, ceremony, prayer, and respect for all living things.

The preface is especially important. The authors explain that the book was created through the Navajo Ethnobotany Project to gather previously published ethnobotanical information and make it more accessible, especially to Navajo readers and students. They also clearly state that no new sacred knowledge was collected, out of respect for those who believe Navajo plant knowledge should not be made public. The book specifically says it should be read as a testament to Navajo knowledge, not as a pharmacopoeia.

The plant entries show a huge range of uses: dyes, food, ceremonial items, incense, medicines, household tools, games, fibers, soaps, shampoos, chewing gum, basketry materials, and animal treatments. For example, beeplant is presented as a food, seasoning, deodorant, dye source, fire-starting material, and ceremonial plant. Yucca is tied to creation stories, practical use, ceremonial use, food, fiber, and shampoo. The book also stresses that plants are not gathered wastefully. They are picked only as needed, often with prayer and offerings.

One of the coolest things about this book is how often a single plant serves multiple roles. Alder, for example, is not just “a tree.” Its wood was used for spear shafts, bows, and basketry, while its bark could be used to make red, tan, and brown dyes for wool, buckskin, leather, and basketry. That is the kind of detail that makes this book come alive. You start realizing that every branch, root, bark, flower, and leaf might have a story attached to it.

We were also fascinated by alkali pink, also known as scarlet false-mallow. Its Navajo name is tied to the sticky, gummy mixture created when the roots and leaves are pounded and soaked in water. That mixture was used on sores, skin disease, and bleeding. The book also notes that the dried powdered plant was used as dusting powder. Again, this is where the book becomes more than botany. It becomes a window into practical survival, observation, and passed-down wisdom.

We also loved learning about beard tongue, or scarlet penstemon, which the book identifies by a Navajo name meaning “hummingbird food.” First of all, what a beautiful name! Second, it was reportedly used for everything from swellings and wounds to stomachaches, coughs, burns, and even animal injuries, especially broken bones in sheep. And, just to make it even more charming, it was once boiled to make a sweet drink. It is hard not to smile at that. A plant can be medicine, animal care, beauty, and refreshment all at once.

Some entries are surprising in a different way. Bellflower, for instance, is associated with the Blessing Way and, according to the book, was eaten by pregnant Navajo women who wanted a daughter. Bitterweed is another memorable one. Its root bark was used as chewing gum because the plant contains a milky sap with latex or rubber, but the book also warns that it is toxic to animals, especially sheep. That contrast is fascinating: useful, but dangerous. Helpful, but not harmless.

And then there are the plants tied to everyday objects and games. Birch was used in the hoop and pole game, while yucca leaves were used as counters in the Moccasin Game. The book even explains that offerings were made to the yucca plant before and after the game. That is the kind of cultural detail that gives Nanise’ its quiet power. These plants are not just sitting in the background of Navajo life. They are woven into games, ceremonies, foodways, medicine, clothing, tools, art, and prayer.

The more you read, the more the book trains you to see plants differently. A cottonwood branch is not just shade. It can become a fire starter, a tool, a ceremonial figure, or part of a household structure. A cherry tree is not just fruit. It can provide sacred wood for ceremonial items, food, dye, and medicine. A cliffrose is not just pretty desert scenery. It can be tied to wind, song, arrows, mattresses, dye, and cradleboards.

That is the magic of Nanise’. It takes things many of us would walk past without a second thought and reveals an entire world of usefulness, meaning, and reverence. It is not exactly a page-turner in the traditional sense, but it is absolutely a mind-opener.

Check it out on Amazon!