by Cathryn Creno - The Arizona Republic

Creosote bush, the fragrant, yellow-blossoming bush that covers Valley mountainsides, is a key ingredient in a new line of spa products developed by the Gila River Indian Community.

Known to members of community by its Pima name, shegoi, creosote has traditionally been used in herbal teas, healing balms and even to cure ailments in animals, said Belen Stoneman, Spiritual Healer at Gila River’s Aji Spa at Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort.

“My mother would keep shegoi in an old pickle jar,” said Stoneman, who grew up in the community and worked as a massage therapist and a cultural educator before moving to her present position at 18 months ago.
“She would grind the leaves into a powder with a stone. She would take a tiny amount and make it into a tea. Or she would put it on our skin if we had a cut or sore. I find it amazing that one plant can do so many things,” she added.

According to Pima legend, shegoi was the first plant on earth. According to Pima history, the medicinal plant played a major role in the development of the tribe’s civilization.

Stoneman said that at the same time she took the new position at Aji, Gila River’s Cultural Resources Committee, of which she is a member, was discussing ways to incorporate traditional plants into a line of spa products.

Unlike other spas, Aji, which opened in 2002, did not have a line of signature products to sell in its gift shop. And Aji staff had just starting developing massage oil for in-house use that included creosote, willow bark and other locally-grown herbs, she said.

“We came up with the idea of finding a way for people to take a little bit of shegoi home with them,” Stoneman said. “We wanted to create products that would smell earthy, like the desert. We wanted something grounding. And we wanted our product to be different from anything other places offer. We wanted all of that combined.”

After “months and months of weekly meetings” the result is a product line called Indigenous. The soaps, shampoo, lotions and candles went on shelves at the gifts shops in Ajis and the Sheraton last October. The fragrance of Indigenous now infuses Aji Spa’s lobby, dressing area and treatment rooms. It smells earthy, with a touch of lavender. The creosote gives it a hint of the fragrance of the desert after a monsoon storm.

Indigenous is manufactured by a Florida-based company called Spa Mediterranee, which specializes in making soaps and shampoos for luxury resorts.

But the herbs used in the products are grown in the community.

The process used for selecting and picking the shegoi that goes into Indigenous is a sacred one, Stoneman said.

Only Stoneman and four other community members have been authorized by the cultural council to pick the parts of the plant that goes into the spa products.

Stoneman said she gathers about 100 pounds of creosote brush each month. Before doing so, she said, she talks to and blesses each plant.

“That’s part of our heritage,” she said. “When you take something from the earth you have to honor it. Just about everyone in our community knows about this tradition and follows it.”

Stoneman said while Indigenous is popular with spa visitors from other parts of the country, some of her best customers are Valley residents who like the idea that the products are made from Sonoran desert plants.

“They get really excited about it when they learn what shegoi is and where it comes from,” she said. “Just about everyone recognizes its fragrance as the one you smell in the desert after the rain.”

Copyright © 2009, azcentral.com.

Posted on June 17th, 2009 by hunwut
Filed under: Health