- Medicinal Plant Working Group (MPWG) Elder's Circle
Medicinal Plant Working Group
The role of the Medicinal Plants Working Group (MPWG) is to forge partnerships with industry, government, academia, tribes and environmental organizations to facilitate sustainable use and conservation of medicinal plants. The primary focus of the MPWG is facilitating action on behalf of medicinal plants native to the United States that are of particular conservation concern.
Elders' Circle
The Elders' Circle was created in 2001 to encourage active participation of tribes and other holders of traditional ecological knowledge pertaining to native medicinal plants. The nine members of the Elders' Circle were invited to participate/chosen through a selection process developed by the PCA-MPWG Ethnobotany Committee. These elders demonstrate extensive knowledge of plant medicine and conservation, represent their tribes, work cross-culturally, and communicate using current technology. The Elders come from locations across the United States, representing the Four Directions and were balanced in gender. The PCA-MPWG relies on the Elders' Circle to provide Native American perspectives for its medicinal plant conservation activities.
The AHPA-ERB Foundation provided management support from 2001-2007, serving as funds manager for the MPWG.