Native American Herbal, Plant Knowledge

Blueberries,

Minagawunj not done

Wild cranberry,

Anibimin (bog) not

done

Anib (highbush

cranberry), not done

Wild currant,

Wabosodjibiknot done

Wildberries remind us of our childhood. Indeed, they are a special gift of Creation to the

children and to women. Over 250 species or berries and fruits--strawberry, red raspberry,

currant, elderberry, juniper berry, cranberry, bearberry, to name a few - in Native

America are gathered and utilized for their nutritional and medicinal value. Berries are

delicious when eaten raw, crushed and mixed with water and maple syrup or honey for

drinks; mixed with soups, bread, puddings and meats, and dried for winter storage. The

berries, leaves and roots can be collected and used together or separately and drunk as a

medicine tea. Among the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations Iroquois), the wild strawberry is

regarded as the "leader" of the berries. It is the first berry food to appear in the spring and

this sacred plant is gathered at that time and eaten as a blood purifier. The iron and

minerals in the berries and leaves of the wild strawberry make this favorite berry plant a

valuable blood remedy. Elderberries, red raspberry and tender sumac berry sprouts are

also used for their alterative, or blood-building, properties.

Wild berries are extremely rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C is a water-soluble nutrient

which detoxifies the body, promotes healing, strengthens connective tissue, helps to absorb

iron, and cooperates with the B complex in maintaining the endocrine system. A severe

deficiency of Vitamin C leads to scurvy, a disease that was common in Europe at one time

and which was attributed then to "bad air." Native peoples of Turtle Island had already

recognized the dietary basis of the disease and they knew how to prevent and cure it with a

variety of medicines from natural sources.

Craspberries are antiscorbutic, meaning that they are effective in preventing and treating

scurvy. They can be used alone or in combination with other berries like sumac berry and

other natural sources high in vitamin C like the fresh, new tips of evergreens.

Berries are also of great benefit to the urinary tract. They act as diuretics (promotes the

flow of urine) and they acidify the urine to create a hostile environment for bacteria.

Cranberry and bearberry have long been used in the treatment of cystitis (urinary bladder

infection).

Berries also have astringent properties, meaning that they cause contraction of tissue and

they arrest bleeding and discharge. In this capacity, they are proven remedies for diarrhea

and leukorrhea.

Native Foods -- Katsi Cook on Women's Uses of Berries

http://www.kstrom.net/isk/food/katsi.html (2 of 9) [5/17/2004 11:48:03 AM]