Meet Melissa Meyer
Melissa Meyer, Tsimshian First Nation, is an experienced clinical herbalist, community trained plant practitioner, ear Acupuncture Detoxification practitioner, and fervent land, people and animal steward.
Working from a trauma-informed lens, she believes that reclaiming our relationships with plant medicines and our bodies is a sovereign act of resistance and (re)membering.
To date, Melissa’s work spans traditional medicine, community-based health access, cultural teachings, and board leadership with organizations focused on Indigenous health, land stewardship, and community empowerment.
Community Achievements
2024 | Spirit of Reciprocity Award by the Potlatch Fund
2022 | Pierce County Conservation District’s Educator of the year
“My indigenous ancestors have long been nation sustaining on our lands for thousands of years, creating life and ensuring all of life’s succession. The farm is an extension of the mutual aid I learned in my community and continue to practice now. The food sovereign traditions that I have been raised in are the guiding beacons that inform our practices. Today I find myself a guest, on the ancestral lands of the Puyallup tribe practicing ancestral Foodways with community. A pathway and lifeway of my Tsimshian kin since time immemorial and for that I am truly grateful.”
Gratitude to my teachers and mentors:
As a community-trained herbalist, I am eternally grateful for those who have taught and continue to teach me the ways of care, reciprocity and community. I am grateful to and humbled by the wisdom of my ancestors that continues to be passed to me by my Mother, my relatives, and my deep ancestral lineages of community. I also lift up the following people who’ve opened their homes, memories, and practices to me and my family as we walk this path together:
My family & relatives
Canoe Journey Herbalists
Edna Deerunner
Karyn Sanders
Valerie Segrest
Jean Madrone
Victoria Buffalo-Robe
Jodall Mattson
Montana Honeylion
Shayne Case
Indigenous Herbalist Pathways
Nitanis Desjarlais
Rhonda Schooner
Dionne Paul
Lori Snyder
Jennifer Rose
Marie Serna
Letti Dogheart
Itai Jeffries