Navajo Tea, Cota (Thelesperma filifolium), revered since ancient times, is still widely used by the Diné and Ndé. It was traditionally used to make tea and dye. In Diné, Navajo tea is called ch’ilgohwéhí’deí. It blooms with stunning flowers from May to September and then matures to fruit from July to September. According to an oral history from Esther Benally, Diné, “staple foods such as flour and coffee were not always available.” Thus, the Navajo Tea fruit served as another source of calories and nutrition.
When making a tea with this plant, almost the entire plant is steeped, including stem, leaves, and flowers, which results in a tea flavor that is very similar to young green tea. Medicinally, the tannins in Navajo tea have a drying or astringent effect and were used to help reduce mucus secretions in the body, such as those that occur from colds. Navajo tea was also used to reduce fevers and treat kidney problems. When used as a vermifuge, it helped to get rid of parasites or worms from the body. It was often used to relieve stomach aches and other digestive ailments. And if you had a toothache, chewing some Navajo Tea leaves would help to reduce the pain. Because of these medicinal properties, Navajo Tea served another purpose.
Sexually transmitted diseases, such as syphilis and gonorrhea, occurred frequently within the soldier’s camps and subsequently on the reservation amongst the Diné. Within the written records and oral traditions, there exists accounts of sexual abuse, sex trafficking, and rape at the hands of the U.S. Army. According to Jennifer Nez Denetdale, Diné: “Girls as young as twelve and thirteen years old were selling their bodies for a pint of cornmeal from the soldiers.”. From the Ndé and Diné perspective, the Fort Hospital was seen as the place where people went to die and therefore, the medicine being offered at the hospital was not accepted nor was it trusted. To combat these illnesses that plagued the people, the Diné used what was provided by the earth. Because the drying effects of the tannins, Navajo Tea was readily used to help treat symptoms of syphilis, gonorrhea, and other such venereal diseases.
