Sequoia - Handmade Bar Soap 1oz

Immerse yourself in the rich, aromatic experience of our handcrafted soaps. Choose from a unique collection of scents inspired by nature and tradition, including Storyteller, Skywoman, Sweetgrass, Jingle Dress, Red Clover, Sage, Turtle Island, Beautiful Day, Strawberry Rhubarb, Stone Mother, Three Sisters, Cradleboard, Cedar, Northern Blueberry, Intertribal, Turquoise, Wild Berries, Beautiful Water, Tobacco, Moon Dance, Medicine Woman, and Three Bears.

Directions:  Use daily in bath or shower. For a longer lasting bar make sure you do not leave in a puddle of water where the soap may become soggy. Or even better, alternate between 2 bars so that there is an extra day of drying time between uses.

Storyteller: A soothing tea blend of orange slices and spices simmering together.

·       Inspiration: Stories are passed down from generation to generation. The young ones would sit around listening to the elders telling their stories. As I grew up, we drank tea and could listen to stories from my elders for hours. Details: Storyteller soap smells like a tea blend you would simmer on your stove top for around the time of year when families get together and sit around the fire. 

Skywoman: In Haudenosaunee culture, the story of Earth's creation is that of a woman who fell from SkyWorld, who became known as Skywoman. The planet was just an endless sea. She descended onto a giant turtle's back aided by birds. Using a small bit of mud from the bottom of the sea, she sang and danced until a great land had been created that she called Turtle Island. Details: Three layers represent the earth, the water, and the skyworld.  The scent of our Skywoman soap is mystical and wonderous. The citrus-like background comes through under the sweetness of fruits, elegant softness of beautiful flowers, and finished off with a slight ocean spray touching the air.

      Sweetgrass: One of the four Sacred Medicines in Indigenous culture, our Sweetgrass soap has been around for over 20 years. Check out the video for uses of Sweetgrass. We place a short blade of actual Sweetgrass in every bar hand picked by an elder from my home community of Akwesasne. Details: We hope you've had the opportunity to smell the herbal - sweet scent of sweetgrass. It's true that due to urbanization, sweetgrass is harder to find these days as it grows and thrives in a wild environment. We've captured this 'wildness' in each bar and now give everyone the opportunity to experience it with each shower. 

·        Jingle Dress: A warm blend of berries + flowers + hint of perfume. Inspiration: This soap was inspired by the Jingle Dress Dance, which originally began as a "healing dance" and can be seen at many powwows across North America. To read up a little on the history and see some videos, click here. Details: This soap is a sweet and soft mix of raspberry, red currant, tulip, freesia, heliotrope, rose, cashmere musk, vanilla, and amber. This is a complex mix with just a hint of perfume undertones.

Red Clover: Our inspiration can be seen in the video as Kahnawake's Skanaiea Deer takes us on a Medicine Walk and describes how Red Clover is used as a natural medicine. Details: Our Red Clover soap has a delicious herbal tea scent, delicately sweet with notes of fruit. It's unique and wonderful.

Sage: Sage is one of the 4 Sacred Medicines in Indigenous Culture. Details: Sage is such a clean pleasant scent, it is no wonder that is one of the most requested after sweetgrass. This earthy smelling soap contains the essential oil of sage and topped off with a sage sprig as well.

·        Turtle Island: The Iroquoian creation story teaches us that the continent of North America was formed from the shell of a great turtle. The turtle rose up from the sea to provide Sky Woman a place to land on and walk upon as she descended from Skyworld. She then created Turtle Island (North America) from the turtle's back. We've created a magical soap that captures the essence of that epic story. It is how I imagine the creation of Turtle Island may have looked from Skyworld.  Details: This soap is a wonderful swirl of essential oils of patchouli and spearmint, loved by both men and women.

·        Beautiful Day: Wenniseriio is a Mohawk word meaning beautiful day. That's just what you'll have when you bring this amazing soap into your life. Details: Beautiful Day is a stimulating blend of Citrus, including Grapefruit, Lemon and Lime, with hints of fresh Cucumber and Jasmine, and a touch of Pineapple, Blackberry and Champagne.

·     Strawberry Rhubarb: Strawberry + Tart Rhubarb Inspiration: Strawberries are a very important little plant in Haudenosaunee culture and when rhubarb was introduced, they could not be more opposite.... but when put together, they make such an interesting scent. 

·        Stone Mother: This is dedicated to where my (Paiute) grandparents are from. The Stone Mother is a rock formation at Pyramid Lake, Nevada which looks like a woman and her basket. Click here for a picture of what she looks like or keep scrolling and click here to read the legend. Details: This bar contains activated charcoal and two refreshing essential oils: Tea Tree and Peppermint.

·      Three Sisters: Corn, Beans and Squash are known as the Three Sisters in Haudenosaunee culture as staples of our diet for generations. Pumpkin is the Matriarch of the Squash family. Details: Pumpkin pie notes are dominant in this soap, with a heavy dash of cinnamon. If you are a fan of pumpkin pie, this soap is for you. Don't be fooled by the name, men love this one too. Topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

·      Cradleboard: Lavender + Chamomile. Inspiration: Inspired by my first nap time place, my traditional cradleboard. These cradleboards are hand made with wood, each with custom artwork. The cradleboard pictured on its own was designed by local artist Tekaronhiahkhwa Standup. Mine was designed by my grandmother.

Cedar: Cedar is one of the 4 Sacred Medicines in Indigenous culture. Our people also used cedar to construct longhouses and for many of the tools in daily life. There's something about the unmistakable scent of cedar that we seem to love. This soap will bring the great outdoors into your home. Details: Our Cedar soap contains cedarwood essential oil and is topped with sprigs of dried cedar from deadfall.

·       Northern Blueberry: A classic, sophisticated Blueberry scent.  Inspiration: Inspired by blueberry picking in our Northern Territory of Tioweroton every Summer. Tioweroton is an all natural territory in which electricity, paved roads, etc... do not exist with the exception of its Caretakers at the entrance. It is shared by Kahnawake and Kanehsatake. Details: This perfect blend of sweet summer juicy blueberries has just a hint of orange, and lemon. Also you can detect middle notes of a fruity-floral blend of strawberry, pear, lilac, and violet. Bottom Line: Fruity and classic.

·         Turquoise: A fresh clean scent with hints of apple, sage, and just a hint of pineapple. Inspiration: Our soap design features the Turquoise color with glimmers of gold you so often see in Indigenous Turquoise Jewelry. If you are a fan of Turquoise like I am, you will love to have this soap in your shower. This soap was inspired by the Turquoise jewelry my grandmother used to wear. 

·        Wild Berries: Inspiration: Well, who doesnt love Berry Picking? I had so many wild berries growing in my backyard in Akwesasne when I was a child. Wild berry picking has been around Turtle Island for generations. My faves were wild strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. Details: Colored with red and pink natural clays, and topped with strawberry seeds, raspberry seeds and cranberry seeds. Anyone who loves berries will love this soap. This one seems to be the favorite here at Sequoia.

·     Sacred Tobacco - Inspiration: One of the four Sacred Medicines, sacred tobacco has been used on Turtle Island for generations/  Details: A comforting, smooth honey-tobacco blend which is warm, sweet, and smoky. Hints of vanilla and patchouli really give this soap some character.

·     Moon Dance- Inspiration: This soap is named after the Iroquoian Moon Dance Ceremony which gives an offering to our grandmother, the moon. This soap pays homage to the females of this world to make sure that life continues and to keep everything in order, including plant life, animal life, and water life. Details: The festive look to this soap makes it appealing to both men and women. This soap reminds us of harmony with it's mellow, pleasant, tangerine-orangey scent.

·        Medicine Woman-  Inspiration: As the name suggests, this one is inspired by our Indigenous women who take on the role of healers in our communities.  Details: Medicine Woman is a complex mix of Cedar, Saffron, Eucalyptus and Sage, and topped with Elder flowers. It's a very earthy but compelling scent. Perfect for those who love essential oils. Two of the 4 Sacred Medicines are featured.