Honouring Indigenous Tobacco: A Teaching, Gift, & Living Tradition

For thousands of years, long before borders, roads, or modern towns existed, tobacco was cultivated on the lands we now call southwestern Ontario. Nations such as the Petun, the Neutral, and the Huron grew and traded this remarkable plant, nurturing lineages of knowledge that stretch back through millennia. Tobacco was not merely a crop. It was a relative, a medicine, and a connector between the physical and spiritual worlds.

When settlers arrived in the early 1800s, they encountered this long-standing relationship with tobacco and, in time, began cultivating varieties such as the historic Petit Canadien; first recorded in 1807 and shared with newcomers through Indigenous guidance. While commercial cultivation would go on to shape Canada’s agricultural history, the original teachings around tobacco have endured through the stewardship of Indigenous communities.

The Sacred Nature of Traditional Tobacco

Among many First Nations, tobacco is far more than a plant. It is a sacred gift placed on Earth to help us communicate with the Creator, the spirit world, and the ancestors. Traditional tobacco carries teachings, responsibility, and intention. It is medicine for the mind, body, heart, and spirit, used with care, gratitude, and purpose.

This sacred relationship is at the core of many ceremonies. In pipe ceremonies, for example, tobacco is not always inhaled. Instead, smoke is gently offered to the four directions, to Mother Earth below, and to Father Sky above; each gesture a prayer, a message, or an act of gratitude carried upward into the vastness of the heavens. The rising smoke becomes a bridge between worlds, a way of acknowledging all our relations.

Traditional tobacco should never be confused with commercial tobacco. One is a sacred medicine tied to teachings, healing, and ceremony; the other is a manufactured and heavily processed commodity with well-documented health impacts. They share a name but not a purpose.

A Plant of Many Teachings and Many Uses

Across different Nations, tobacco carries different names, different songs, and different responsibilities. But one belief is shared widely: plants are our relations. Like the animals, rivers, and stars, they hold spirit. They listen. They respond. They deserve care.

Tobacco is used in many ways, always guided by respect:

Smudging & Energy Clearing

A pinch of tobacco may be blended with sage, cedar, sweetgrass, or juniper during smudging. As the smoke clears stagnant energies, the mixture purifies body, mind, spirit, and the space around us.

Offerings to the Land

Whether sprinkled on the ground, placed at the base of a tree, or offered to water, tobacco becomes a gesture of gratitude; acknowledging the spirits of place, giving thanks for safe travels, or seeking guidance during times of uncertainty.

Honouring Knowledge Keepers

When seeking advice, healing, or teachings, it is customary to offer tobacco to an Elder or knowledge keeper. This exchange shows humility, readiness to learn, and respect for the labour and spirit invested in sharing traditional knowledge.

Ceremony & Connection

During gatherings and sacred rituals, tobacco is a doorway to spirit. As the smoke rises, it joins the sky and reflects in the waters; reminding us that everything is connected, everything mirrors everything else, and we are all pieces of one great whole.

Traditional tobacco invites a sense of calmness, clarity, and presence. Its effects are grounding and gentle, profoundly different from commercial tobacco. It is not about recreation, it is about relationship, intention, and connection.

Reciprocity: Taking Care of What Takes Care of Us

An important teaching across many Nations is reciprocity: giving back for what we take. When harvesting traditional tobacco, many people sprinkle a small amount of tobacco onto the earth in return. It is a reminder that the plant is alive, that it comes from the same soil that holds our ancestors, and that what nourishes us must also be nourished in return.

This responsibility extends to the future. By honouring and protecting traditional tobacco today, we ensure that future generations can learn, harvest, and carry these teachings forward.

Walking Forward with Respect

At Red Roots Trading Company, we honour the deep cultural, spiritual, and historical significance of traditional tobacco. While we offer commercial tobacco products, we believe it is essential to recognize the profound difference between sacred ceremonial tobacco (click the bold text to view!), and the modern, commercialized versions so common today.

Tobacco has always been more than a product. It has been a teacher. A relative. A medicine. A connection to spirit. A part of ceremony that carried voices, hopes, and prayers long before modern Canada existed.

By learning about and respecting these traditions, we take one more step in reconnecting with the land, its histories, and the Indigenous peoples who have stewarded these teachings for countless generations.