Niibin: II. Ode'mini'giizis chigizheb

Having arrived at our summer homes beside Manitou Gumee, or Spirit Lake (today known as ‘Georgian Bay’) the Anishnabe would move into a pleasant routine during the time of the summer moons. This was a time of rejoicing where we would celebrate the creative power of Mother Earth by growing our own food and medicines in our gardens. And it was a season of abundance when the land brought forth many different wild berries which we have harvested from time immemorial. These gifts from G’chi Manitou were essential for our health and wellbeing and were provided for us in an everlasting sequence each year.

We call ‘June’ the time of the Odemini-Giizis, or ‘Heartberry Moon’, it was the time we would traditionally harvest the wild heartberries - today some people call them ‘strawberries’! The leaves of these sweet, red berries were medicine for our heart and were essential for good health. We would eat them along with the delicious fruit, which would help us to overlook their bitter taste, as you know ‘a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down.’

During the summertime, berry harvesting was always a day-long activity that involved the entire family, young and old. Typically we would always get a very early start and depart from our homes at first light, before the sun had yet risen.

We would begin each day in the darkness…and would greet Grandfather Sun as he rises every morning.