BERRY PLANTS FOR WOMEN'S NUTRITION & MEDICINE

By Katsi Cook, Akwesasne Mohawk

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From Volume One, No. IV of INDIGENOUS WOMAN the official publication of the Indigenous Women's Network. [See End of Article] This is an experiment -- I've IDed most of Katsi's plants by their botannical names (there's a couple of problems) and used this to find ID pix all over the web. By Indian language, I ID them by the Mohawk names she gives, the Anisninaabemowin ones I happen to know, and any other Indian names I learn. I'd like to collect as many Indian names (and info on their uses) from other tribes as possible. This would be a good student project, especially when (if ever) spring comes -- try to ID the plants in your area, talk to elders, etc., send me the info and I'll add it to the plant notepages for Katsi's article.

Katsi, a presenter on Native childbirth, photographed at the 1994 Indigenous Women's Network Gathering at White Earth Reservation, Minnesota. Theme was Sustainable Communities: Our Future, Our Responsibility. Fashion note: she's wearing an IWN T-shirt.

More info On Katsi's Plants: Native & Botannical Names, Multi-tribal uses, Chemical Analysis
Strawberries	Juniper (Cedar)	Raspberries	Elder Tree
Blackberries	Partridgeberry	Red Sumac	BearberryKinnikinik
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. Blackberry root, in combination with wild strawberry leaves has long been known as an effective remedy of diarrhea. Blackberry root has also been used as a treatment for dysentery, a disease characterized by extreme diarrhea and passage of mucus, blood, pus and fluid. Kneeling upon soft mosses or standing at a bramble of thorny harvest; their quick fingers dancing across bushes heavy with their succulent fruit, our grandmothers gathered berries of many colors with joy and grateful recognition. They used the berry plant as a woman's medicine throughout their reproductive years for a variety of purposes. Some berry plants help to stimulate and promote normal menstrual function, others help to ease childbearing and childbirth; still others alleviate menopausal symptoms or are useful in the treatment of gynecologic complaints. Still today, Indian woman and children prize the various wild berries that grow in our territories and we will travel long distances and make camp and harvest those berries which aren't quite as near to home. We join our elders in their lament that gravel pits and concrete are causing the berry and other plants to "turn their faces from the people and disappear." Using the berry plants for both nutrition and medicine is one way that traditionally-minded woman can continue to keep their strength and health within the cycles of the creation. Begin by using those berries you were familiar with as a child, and seek the guidance of someone who is knowledgeable about the berries in your area to find the safest and most effective way to use them. If you are on your moon, or still bleeding from childbirth, do not gather the berries or any other plants. Have your grandmother, midwife or someone else you trust do it for you. If you are pregnant, there are some berry plants you shouldn't use, like elderberry roots. Although its okay to eat the cooked berries, the roots contain a toxic principle. Remember, too that although berry plants have much nutritional value, they are only meant to supplement and enhance a well-balanced diet. Like anything else, don't overdo it. More does not mean better. Above all, as whenever you harvest the Creation's gift, give thanks and acknowledgement to the Creator and to the plant, and return something to the Earth so that her cycles may continue.