Canadian First Nations and American Natives used pine pollen from ponderosa and lodgepole

It took us a full year to secure registration for our pine pollen powder and tinctures with Health Canada as“nutritional support to improve energy and vitality.” This process is incredibly rigorous and subject to annual updates, making the recent letter we received quite alarming—they want to reconsider our registrations. Their reasoning?The historical use of pine pollen is primarily documented in ancient Chinese texts, while our products are sourced exclusively from wild-harvested Canadian pines.

This raises a critical concern:if Health Canada denies our registration, consumers seeking the health benefits of pine pollen may be left with no choice but to rely on imported, cracked cell, microwave-treated Chinese pollen. This discrepancy highlights a significant issue that we can’t overlook. To address this, we dug deeper into research to uncover evidence of historical usage right here in Canada.

Given the profound connection many Indigenous cultures have with nature, it’s highly likely thatNorth American First Nations recognized and utilized pine pollen as a medicinal resource. Their spiritual beliefs and enduring relationship with the land would naturally lead them to discover the healing properties of this remarkable substance.

It’s important to note thatpollen buds are only available for about 2-3 weeks each spring, with their abundance varying from year to year due to weather conditions. Unfortunately, documentation of ethnobotanical practices comes mostly from oral traditions preserved by tribal elders, many of whom were lost in devastating epidemics after the 1900s. Additionally,the residential schools further severed intergenerational knowledge transfer. Thus, it’s remarkable that there are references from North America. Thankfully,the pollen from both pine species we harvest, P. ponderosa and P. contorta, has documented evidence—two references for each species!

1- Pinus Ponderosa 

A) The ethnobotany of the Northern Cheyenne Indians of Montana Jeffrey A. Hart

“Young male cones were chewed for nourishment before the pollen was shed; after the juice was sucked out, the cones were spat out” 

B) University of Vermont, Ponderosa Pine: Native American Uses – Foods.

“The Blackfoot tribe ate the tree’s inner bark and chewed the young male cones for their juice.”

2- Pinus Contorta

A) “The Nlaka'pamux of British Columbia ate the young shoots of the branches when at the bud stage; these were said to be very sweet. The Nlaka'pamux also made a tea by boiling the needles of this pine (Turner et al., 1990).  Note the  “bud stage” houses male cones that hold pollen. 

Traditional plant foods of Canadian indigenous peoples 1991,Harriet V. pg 41. 

B) “The young staminate cones of this species were stewed with meat by the Ojibwa of Ontario (Smith, 1932).”  Note the  “young staminate cone” is male cone or pollen buds. 

Traditional plant foods of Canadian indigenous peoples 1991,Harriet V. pg 41. 

So rest assured,Our NPN registration is safe and valid, backed by robust evidence of historical use.