The Story of Sweetgrass.
In many Native communities, sweetgrass is a sacred medicine and often used for healing, purification, and connection. The sweet scent of sweetgrass is said to attract positive spirits, cleanse the heart, and remind people of the Creator’s love. Sweetgrass burnt, braided, or held close brings peace, power, and protection. Sweetgrass can be braided into three strands, each representing a sacred teaching (mind, body, spirit, love, honesty, and respect), as per Native customary belief. Braiding is a means of unification, of balance. As the threads are braided together, they are stronger together than they could be ever alone.
The meaning of the three sections of the braid.
The Sweetgrass Braid is a symbol at StrongHearts Native Helpline, one which resonates with so many people. It is the story of every survivor and all who stand strong through culture, compassion, and connection. Each section of the braid represents restoration: Support, Healing, Empowerment, and together they become the sweetgrass braid of StrongHearts.
First Section: SUPPORT.
The heart of StrongHearts Native Helpline lies with the advocates, the first braid in the StrongHearts circle, representing compassion and connection. Each advocate is the one offering support to uplift those in pain. By listening, understanding, and caring, they exemplify the very first step in the path of healing. Survivors who call are met with patience, respect, and care woven through every conversation. StrongHearts advocates bring safety where there has been fear, trust where there has been betrayal, connection where there has been isolation and validation where there has been self-doubt.
Seven Strands of Support:
Compassion - Showing empathy and compassion to people in pain.
Respect – Listening to every person's story, words, and boundaries.
Generosity – Providing time, care, and support from the heart.
Listening – Opening space to hear the truth but without judgment.
Patience – Understanding that healing happens gradually.
Kinship – The awareness that we are all connected through the circle of life.
Trust – Being honest and steady creates safety.
The essence of these seven strands that StrongHearts advocates uphold is that our support is rooted in kindness, and every act of listening and advocacy is therapeutic.
Second Section: HEALING.
The second braid represents the restoration and healing of the body, mind, and spirit. It marks the healing process for survivors of dometic violenceand sexual violence to become whole again. Each step they take is an act of courage; it reclaims what has been taken from them. Healing is not easy. Like sweetgrass, which regrows even after being cut, survivors grow anew with culture, community, and with self-compassion. Healing brings moments of peace and hopeful promise guiding one back to wholeness. Ways to Heal
Seven Strands of Healing:
Connection – Reweaving ties to culture, family, and self.
Forgiveness – Releasing pain without forgetting lessons learned.
Balance – Restoring harmony between heart, body, and spirit.
Resilience – Rising again, strengthened by experience.
Gratitude – Giving thanks for the healing journey, however slow.
Faith – Trusting that the Creator walks beside each survivor.
Peace – The calm that comes when the spirit remembers its own worth.
Each of these strands symbolizes the labor that survivors undergo to rebuild their lives. Healing, in the process, brings medicine not only to themselves, but also their families and future generations.
Third Section: EMPOWERMENT.
The third braid symbolizes reclaiming power and a recreation of identity. It respects the survivor’s evolution from a victim of harm to a leader of others down a path of healing. The braid that comes from this is woven with the strength of those who came before. It carries hope for everybody.
Seven Strands of Empowerment:
Self-Worth – Knowing one's own sacredness and right to be safe.
Voice – Speaking truth after silence.
Freedom – Living without fear or control.
Purpose – Using one’s story to help others find their way.
Community – Building an entire circle and strengthening it by helping one another.
Tradition – Reaching back to the culture for power and direction.
Hope – A belief in a future determined by healing and love.
Empowerment is when you reclaim that power; it’s when people who have been survivors in other ways become teachers, leaders, and healers for others.
Why Twenty-One Strands?
These three braid sections represent twenty-one strands, the seven teachings multiplied by three stages of restoration. For many Native cultures, the number seven is a meaningful number signifying the seven Directions (East, South, West, North, Above, Below, and Within). The twenty-one strands woven using three braid sections represent that healing is not just a personal experience but also intergenerational. If one person heals, that medicine carries over to family, community, and generations yet to come. Healing for the Future Generations