As the autumn leaves turn colour and fall wistfully to the ground, Mother Earth begins a cycle of renewal. It is a time when animals, plants and people get ready for the winter and for new cycles.
Fall also marks the end of the summer harvest in our community. Throughout the summer, Stoney Nakoda women pick berries in preparation for the winter as well the autumn feasts.
Warhpepen (wild rhubarb), which ripens in June, are picked in grassy meadows in the foothills. These are followed by wobathokâ (saskatoons), which are harvested in July.
My mother, Tina Fox, tells me of a time when Stoney Nakoda women would travel on horseback to various locations in and around Mînî thnî (Cold water, the name Stoney Nakoda people gave to what is now Morley) to pick berries.
In particular, one woman would always be the first to head out. When her late grandmother, Jenny Poucette, and others saw the late Flora Hunter ride by on her trusted sorrel pony, they would say to each other: “Eyee, ake iyetona zenyach” (Oh no, there she goes again, first).
It was not a time of competition but gaiety and camaraderie. My great grandmother, Jenny, and other women would gather their pails, children, and food to head out picking hatha (berries).
In July, châdeden (strawberries) are also available but only the most patient will pick châdeden. That is because they are smaller than hatha toton (blueberries) and difficult to locate. Hatha toton are available in August as are hatha tânga (huckleberries).
In September, women in our community travel into the mountains to pick poptâka (cranberries). Cranberries are more abundant then blueberries, which can be hard to locate. There are however, women who have secret blueberry patches that they simply will not divulge. My mother is always after her friend Kathleen to spill the beans but she has not, and will not.
Berry picking is not limited to the varieties mentioned. Some in our community have a taste for huchâthâthân (gooseberries), which grow in July and châpa (choke cherries) which grow in September. However, these are acquired tastes that some do not indulge.
The berry-picking season is important for two reasons. First is that people are gathering berries to store for the winter. The other is that people are gathering berries to be used in the fall feasts that were held in the Stoney Nakoda community.
In her youth, my mother recalls a time when the entire community would come together to hold a community feast. People would gather at the band hall each fall to share their harvest. It was simply a time of togetherness. Men would hunt so that they could provide food to the community but the people who made it happen were women.
Women would work day and night, preparing dry meat, smoked ribs, pemmican, and various berries. On feast day, people gathered at the hall to eat together and give thanks to the Creator. But really though, they were celebrating life and the spirit of community as Stoney Nakoda people.
