Tobacco has been used across nearly the entire American continent in diverse forms.

In 2021, archaeological excavations at the Wishbone site in Utah uncovered evidence of human tobacco use dating back 12,300 years. This is 9,000 years earlier than previously known. These findings suggest that Pleistocene hunter-gatherers used tobacco, likely smoking it or chewing it, as part of their ceremonial or daily life.

Tobacco (Nicotiana genus) is often called a “master plant” by peoples of the Americas. It is an offering to the element of fire invoking presence, clarity, and transformation. It serves as a bridge to the ancestors, a way of making connection…

“Tobacco cannot be absent; it is the first doorway to ancestral medicine—this is why it is called the master plant.” It is only after tobacco is offered that other sacred plants enter the ceremony.

Tobacco continues to hold the most consistent ceremonial presence across Indigenous nations, from visioning and divination to healing and political governance. Tobacco is a living entity, a master plant that mediates relationships between people and Land.

For many…. tobacco speaks; it guides and teaches.

Tobacco, America’s Master Plant, Paola Sanchez-Castaneda, 10/21/25, Edited: Ullrey,A.M, Center for the Study of World Religions - @ cswr.hds.harvard.edu.