Chia (Columbariae), the Spanish name for Salvia columbariae, is a plant of great economic importance to many Native American tribes in California, who have long used chia for food and medicinal purposes. Historically, chia seeds were a staple food for many Pacific coast groups including the Salinan, Costanoan and Chumash as well as inland tribes such as the Paiute, Maidu, and Kawaiisu. Chia is one of the first plants obtained by humans in Kawaiisu mythology (Zigmond 1981). Chia was regularly cultivated along with corn in the fields of the Nahua peoples of ancient Mexico. Salvia columbariae seeds were used by the Chumash on Santa Rosa Island, one of the Channel Islands off the coast of Southern California, as long as 600 years ago, as evidenced by radio carbon dating of seeds found in pottery jars at burial sites there (Clebsch 1997). Large beds of chia plants are reported to bloom in areas that once were the locations of ancient Native American villages (Romero 1954). Chia is an important resource that was often managed by native peoples. The Chumash and Cahuilla were among those groups who would increase the following year’s harvest by periodically burning stands of chia plants (Timbrook et al. 1982;Bean & Saubel 1972).

Chia is valuable source of nutrients, protein and oil. When roasted, they have a pleasant, nutlike flavor. The Diegueño took chia seeds on journeys where a few seeds kept in the mouth and periodically chewed, would keep up their strength (Hedges & Beresford 1986). One tablespoon of chia seed is said to be enough to supply a person with 24 hours worth of energy.

Chia contain a musilagenous substance and expand considerably into a gelatinous volume when moistened. An aromatic, minty beverage could be made by soaking raw chia seeds in water (Saunders 1923). Ground seeds were soaked in water to make a refreshing beverage that is said to have high thirst-quenching properties. Chia, used in this way, is also said to make the alkaline water of the desert palatable.
Seeds mixed with water were also used to treat fevers (Bocek 1984). A hot poultice of ground chia seeds was placed inside a cloth or bandage and applied to infected areas of the body. Europeans quickly adapted medicinal uses of chia; early California mission fathers learned how to make an infusion from chia seeds to treat fevers and it is said that chia makes the “finest poultice for gunshot wounds” (Jepson 1911).