Black History Month New Orleans Voodoo : Marie Laveau Marie Laveau was a renowned healer whose knowledge of herbal medicine was deeply rooted in the traditions of New Orleans. She was especially known for treating gastrointestinal ailments and illnesses accompanied by fever, using remedies she cultivated and prepared herself. Many of the medicinal herbs she relied on were grown in her own garden, making her what we might now recognize as a modern-day “kitchen witch.” In historic New Orleans, her