Bringing Comfort and Connection to the Bedside
Each year, members of the First Nations Métis Health team gather wild prairie sage, carefully harvesting enough medicine to support patients across Saskatoon’s hospitals through the year.
“We pick enough to last through the winter months for all the hospitals,” said Colleen Chief, a Specialist Cultural Support Worker with First Nations Métis Health.
At St. Paul’s Hospital, the sage is used at daily smudges hosted at 11 AM in the Indigenous Healing Centre, Kikâwînaw wîki – Our Mother’s Home.
But not everyone is well enough to travel downstairs to the main floor of the Hospital. For those patients, Colleen and her team have developed a liquid sage that they can bring to patients’ bedsides.
To prepare the spray, Colleen steeps the sage stems in hot water, much like tea, before offering prayers over the liquid.
“I give thanks to the sage that we are using, and I pray that whoever uses it, it helps them in every way. . . . To give them peace of mind.”
This “liquid smudge” is brought directly to patients who are unable to leave their beds, including those in intensive care or receiving life support. Families can also request it when supporting a loved one in hospital.
Colleen said the response is immediate and meaningful. For many patients, the spray provides more than comfort. It supports an important spiritual connection during a vulnerable time.
“They’re very grateful,” said Colleen. “Connecting with their spirituality – to Creator – it’s like a door that’s open, a connection.”
The team also prepares smudge kits containing sage, matches, instructions, and guidance on smudging protocols. Like the spray, the kits are provided free of charge to patients and families who request them.
The annual harvest has become an important tradition for the team. Cultural support workers and First Nations Métis Health staff spend days gathering and preparing medicine together, often working around changing weather conditions. They harvest only where sage is plentiful and leave areas undisturbed when growth is limited.
“If it’s plentiful, we pick. If it’s not, we leave it to grow,” Colleen said.
In addition to sage, the team also prepares cedar and sweetgrass sprays using the same process of harvesting, preparation, and prayer.
Colleen said every medicine is treated with care and gratitude.
“All medicine should be treated with respect and gratitude. They have the power to create balance and restore peace in our lives.”
The work is also deeply personal for Colleen. Helping others has always been part of her path. “It’s my life’s purpose,” she said. “It humbles me, I’m able to help this person in this way.”