"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge"

The type of cord depends on the material used to make it but the technique is always the same. Hay, orca stalk, milkweed, and horse hair are all good materials for making ropes of different strengths. For bow string we will be using milkweed.

Native Americans taught early European settlers how to properly cook milkweed so that they could be safely eaten. (a practice not recommended today). Warning: Consuming large amounts of milkweed that has not been properly prepared can be poisonous.

In the past, the high dextrose content of the nectar led to milkweed's use as a source of sweetener for Native Americans and voyageurs.

The milky white sap was applied topically to remove warts, and the roots were chewed to cure dysentery. Milkweed sap is applied directly to the wart several times daily until the wart falls off.

Infusions of the roots and leaves were taken to suppress coughs and used to treat typhus fever and asthma.

The fluffy white floss, attached to milkweed's flat brown seeds, could be used to stuff pillows, mattresses, and quilts and was carried as tinder to start fires. As of 2007, milkweed is grown commercially as a hypoallergenic filling for pillows

During World War II, the regular material used to stuff life jackets was in short supply, so milkweed floss was called for as a substitute—it is about six times more buoyant than cork!

Milkweed is beneficial to nearby plants, repelling some pests, especially wireworms.

Milkweed sap is also externally used as a natural remedy for Poison Ivy.