Black Raspberry

DOHÁˀKDǪ:

Black Raspberry

Rubus occindentalis

Family: Rosaceae

Native shrub

In my culture, we think of fruits in levels, not as a hierarchy but as the literal height they grow off the ground. Strawberries come first in the spring and in the fall we look forward to our tree crops of peaches, apples, and pears. Gayogohó:nǫˀ know how to preserve all sorts of fruits and foods, but their nutrients are most potent when they’re consumed fresh. In this way we “build our sugars” through the year as we prepare for the winter months. Black Raspberry is an important link in this progression. Old teachings we still share describe how this fruit came into our diets after we observed bears consuming Black Raspberry first when they woke up in the spring. The medicine of Black Raspberry has not lost its effectiveness. It is used today just as it was by our ancestors.