"The wild strawberry 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..."
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 sumacberry
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. Cranberries are
antiscorbutic, meaning that they are effective in preventing
and treating scurvy. They can be used alone or in
combination with other berries like sumacberry 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.
BERRIES FOR WOMEN'S NUTRITION AND MEDICINE WILD STRAWBERRY:
noon tak tek hah kwa growing where the ground is burned
Springtime is traditionally a time of cleansing the body
from impurities which accumulate in the system over the
relative inactivity of winter. Just as every menstrual cycle
includes the purification of the woman through her menses,
it is also important that she cleanse her body in harmony
with the earth's cycles through fasting or the use of
bioactive plants.
The whole strawberry plant; berries, leaves and roots -
can be used as they appear in your area in the spring for
purposes of cleansing the system. Both a blood purifier and
blood builder, the wild strawberry is a laxative, diuretic
and astringent. The leaves and berries are rich in iron and
contain the minerals magnesium, potassium and sodium.
It is a teaching of many native peoples that during
menstruation and pregnancy the woman's body becomes highly
toxic. At menses and childbirth, it is important for a woman
to rest. She may also observe dietary restrictions such as
not eating meat or salt. Wild strawberry leaves and berries
can be used alone or in combination with other medicines to
cleanse the woman's body during her moon time and following
childbirth.
Also, if you eat too many strawberries during pregnancy,
the old women say, your baby will be born with a strawberry
mark!
RED RASPBERRY: oo na joo kwa
Of all the berries, this is among the most useful for
women throughout the reproductive years. The berries and
leaves are rich in iron and they also contain
minerals-phosphorus, potassium, magnesium- which help build
the blood by carrying iron from stores in the liver, spleen,
and bone marrow to needy tissues, the reproductive organs in
particular. In pregnancy, tea made from the leaves is good
for nausea. Its action on the uterus assists contractions
and checks hemorrhage during labor and delivery. After
delivery, it strengthens and cleanses the system and
enriches the mother's milk supply. Raspberry leaf tea helps
stimulate and promote normal menstrual function.
Steep 1 tablespoon fresh or dried leaves to one cup boiled
water, or 1 cut leaf to 1 quart boiled water for at least 5
minutes. Drink liberally throughout pregnancy, lactation and
the menstrual cycle. Raspberry leaves can be mixed with
other berry plants or with mint or honey to improve the
taste and medicinal action.
The lukewarm tea in combination with slippery elm can be
used as a douche for leukorrhea (whitish discharge) of
vaginitis or menopause.
PARTRIDGEBERRY: noon kie oo nah yeah noisy foot
This berry was not generally used for food by humans, but
was used by the women as an excellent tonic for the female
reproductive area. Partridgeberry is a uniquely native
american plant. It was called "Squawvine" by colonists who
saw Indian women using it, and it continues to be called
that by people who don't know the meaning of the derogatory
word "squaw."
An in fusion, or tea, of the entire plant is used several
weeks before childbirth (do not use during the 1st or 2nd
trimesters), and can be used after delivery during
breastfeeding. It is a female regulator and tonic and can be
used for all uterine complaints.
Partridgeberry contains resin, mucilage, dextrin and
saponin in birthing medicine, but it cannot be used
liberally and must be prepared only by a knowledgeable
person. Partridgeberry salve for sore or cracked nipples:
1. Cover 1 ounce whole plant with 1 pint oil (wheatgerm or
olive oil)
2. Bake at 350 degrees for 2-4 hours.
3. Remove plant parts from oil.
4. Melt beeswax in the remaining oil and plant mixture and
mix.
5. Put in container and allow to cool.
It should be a creamy ointment. If it is too stiff, heat
again and add oil; if it is too thin, reheat and add
beeswax.
JUNIPER BERRY: Gad
The Navajo name is given for this evergreen shrub because
it is widely used in the southwest mountain areas as a
stimulant and emetic. The needles are boiled and used for
diarrhea and as a postpartum stimulant. Juniper berries can
be dried and used for tea which has a laxative effect.
Traditional Navajos use juniper as an emetic (causes
vomiting) to purify the system of both adults and newborns.
For adults, they say to put the leaves in warm water when
you get up in the morning, before you have breakfast. Then
go and run, and when you return, drink the liquid. It will
make you throw up and purify your body.
Curly Mustache, a Navajo medicine man, in his account of
the First Navajo Birth in Ruth Roessel's book "Women in
Navajo Society", tells of the instructions given by the Holy
people to the Dine in childbearing. In the traditional way,
a newborn baby is given the juice of the inner white skin of
the juniper bark. Usually, a woman goes out and peels the
bark off the juniper trees. The white inside bark is peeled
off and put into warm water until it turns reddish. A
teaspoon of this juice is given to the baby to drink. This
makes the child vomit the mucus and birthwaters it may have
swallowed and cleanses its insides. (N.B. I mention this
information for ethnographic purposes only.)
Matilda Coxe Stevenson, a sensitive female anthropologist
who attended several births among the Zuni in the late
1800's, reports that juniper twigs and berries were steeped
in boiled water by the Zuni and drunk by the expectant
mother as a tea throughout labor and delivery and afterwards
to relax her system and cleanse the uterus. She mentions,
too, that the People believed that if they drank the tea in
the earlier stages of pregnancy, the child would be very
dark.
The Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin C during
pregnancy and breastfeeding is 80-100 mg. This daily dietary
requirement is necessary for the formation of strong cell
walls and blood vessels, and it is therefore essential to
the growth of the fetus and the placenta.
Mohawk people would prepare a tea high in vitamin C for
pregnant mothers which included white pine, cranberry and
sumac branch bark.
During pregnancy or oral contraceptive use, a woman faces
increased susceptibility to urinary tract infection because
of rising blood levels of a reproductive hormone called
progesterone. Progesterone causes smooth muscle tissues,
such as the bladder, to relax. It also causes the ureters,
the ducts leading from the kidneys to the bladder to dilate.
This action, in addition to the pressure of the growing
uterus during pregnancy on the ureters and urinary bladder,
may cause the bladder to become distended. The resulting
increased volume of urine makes the urinary tract more
hospitable to bacteria. It is important to drink lots of
liquid to dilute the urine to keep the urinary system
flushed out. Cranberry juice, best taken without sugar,
contains hipuric acid which inhibits the growth of bacteria.
Cranberry leaves can be made into a tea and taken
postpartum to help prevent uterine infection in situations
where the woman may seem at greater risk, such as cases of
premature rupture of membranes.
Etcetera: an extract of the bark of Blackberry roots and
wild strawberry leaves make a fine treatment for umbilical
cord cure.
"Well, when I grew up, things were different. In my time
there was a lot of berries, a lot of game, fish, everything.
But now everything is gone - the roots, the berries. That is
what I see: they don't grow no more. The reason why is when
they are ripe, nobody prays when they grab the berries to
put 'em in their mouth; they just go in there and eat off
the bushes. It's the same with the roots. The old timers
believed they had to pray for everything before they tasted
it. But now, they don't believe in anything anymore...now
you believe in the other way, you don't believe in our
Indian ways." - Agnes Vanderberg, 81 year old Flathead Elder
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