N’sumna!
N’sumna is the warm spirit of greeting of the Balanta people in West Africa, the people of my maternal great-grandmother who made landfall on Turtle Island after surviving the Middle Passage. My friend, Sansau T’chimna, shares with fellow diasporic Balantans its literal translation as it’s delicious, meaning I want to savor this delicious moment of connection with you!
For me, n’sumna also captures the sweet joy I feel for my deepening connection with myself and my ancestors through the practice of ancestral herbalism. Each new learning -n’sumna - a revelation, a remembrance, and a reunion.
This space is a simmer pot of tools for mind-body-spirit wellness revealed along my personal path to healing and right livelihood as a practicing herbalist. Dig in.
I hope you’re inspired to follow the tracks of your roots deep into the soil of your soul.
Dove Shepard
clinical herbalist-in-training • transition doula • caregiver
My grandmother, Annie Lois, is the one who acquainted me with dirt. I like to imagine she carried me into the garden on her hip and baptized me in red clay. After long school years in San Francisco, my parents put me on a Delta SFO to ATL. My earliest summers were spent in rural Alabama with Nanny. She showed me how to shell peas and spot hornworms beneath tomato leaves. Through tending the ground, her community, and me, she taught me the simplest lessons in belonging and rootedness. As a restless adult who has transplanted herself across several states and borders, land and plant tending is my soul rooter and community connector.
My goal as an herbalist is to strengthen the thread of continuity between us and the Ancestors, to help the body be a place where Spirit thrives, and to build community so our roots can flourish.
Our planet and our communities are under threat from the enduring legacies of colonization. Rootedness, Sankofa, and respect for all life can bridge us through.
Guiding Principles
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The foundation of my relationship with herbs, the natural world, and community is that all life is equal and all life must be honored.
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I believe we all have the ability to tap into our body’s wisdom, listen to what it’s telling us and become better listeners.
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When we’re good body-mind-spirit listeners we’re better advocates for ourselves in medical settings.
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When we advocate for ourselves we reclaim agency and make empowered and educated choices about our healthcare and well-being
Teachers
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teaches clinical herbalism from an Afro-indigenous perspective through the Well of Indigenous Wisdom School in Puerto Rico. Dove is a current student of Olatokunboh.
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is the proprietor of Star Root Medicine and Soul Flower Farm where she teaches plant medicine through her seasonal autumn and summer Devas Daughters apprenticeships. Dove completed her first apprenticeship with Maya in the fall of 2021.
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is a Traditional Wisdom Keeper and Clinical Herbalist at Owl’s Heart Healing. Angela 6-week course, Decolonizing Wellness, helped calibrate Dove’s compass on the herbal path, guiding her towards herbalism honoring the healing wisdom of our shared and unique indigenous ancestors.
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Founder of the Going with Grace training program for end-of-life doulas.
photo by Ben Prasser
Dove currently lives and learns on
the traditional lands of the Puyallup and Steilacoom peoples in Western Washington State. She identifies as a Black cis-het Californian. In 2021 Dove became an End-of-Life Doula and is currently serving her community as a caregiver. She loves to collaborate on community-building projects centered in land/food/healing justice and taking friends for plant walks in the Pacific Northwest. She’s accepting new clients seeking support in home health, natural wellness with herbs, and transition care for those facing end-0f-life.