Gila River spa products

Gila tribe uses native plants in new line of spa productsCreosote bush, the fragrant, yellow-blossoming bush that covers Valley mountainsides, is a key ingredient in a new line of spa products developed by the Gila River Indian Community.

Known to members of community by its Pima name, shegoi, creosote has traditionally been used in herbal teas, healing balms and even to cure ailments in animals, said Belen Stoneman, Spiritual Healer at Gila River's Aji Spa at Sheraton Wild Horse Pass Resort.And:"We came up with the idea of finding a way for people to take a little bit of shegoi home with them," Stoneman said. "We wanted to create products that would smell earthy, like the desert. We wanted something grounding. And we wanted our product to be different from anything other places offer. We wanted all of that combined."

After "months and months of weekly meetings" the result is a product line called Indigenous. The soaps, shampoo, lotions and candles went on shelves at the gifts shops in Ajis and the Sheraton last October. The fragrance of Indigenous now infuses Aji Spa's lobby, dressing area and treatment rooms. It smells earthy, with a touch of lavender. The creosote gives it a hint of the fragrance of the desert after a monsoon storm.