Bitterroot
Bites
--The scientific name for bitterroot,
Lewisia, is derived
from the American explorer,
Meriwether Lewis, who collected
specimens of the plant during
the renowned Lewis and Clark
Expedition of 1806.
--Early 19th century geographer/explorer
David Thompson noted that the
bitterroot was highly prized
by First Nations people.
-- French-Canadian fur traders,
who had not yet developed a
taste for the vegetable, called
it “raceme amere”
(bitter-root).
--Kootenay people may have learned
of the edible qualities of the
bitterroot from the Flatheads,
their neighbours to the south.
According to Flathead legend,
the Sun formed the seeds of the
bitterroot plant from the tears
of a grandmother who did not have
enough food to nourish her starving
people.
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Berries, Bitterroot
and Bulbs: Traditional Edibles of the Kootenay
In addition to fish and game, wild plants
formed an important part of the diet of
the Kootenay. Kootenay women used specialized
digging tools to harvest roots and bulbs.
Digging sticks, just under a metre in length,
were made of fire-hardened willow, inserted
into deer-antler handles; shorter tools,
fashioned from pronged elk antlers, were
also used. Some of the most common wild-harvested
fruits and vegetables gathered by the Kootenay
included:
Bitterroot – The
roots of the bitterroot were dug by Kootenay
women in the spring, before the plants flowered.
A year’s harvest could be completed
in about 3 – 4 days. The roots were
peeled and washed, and the inner core –
the bitterest part of the vegetable –
was often removed. Fresh bitterroots, which
softened and became milder-tasting when
cooked, were eaten boiled or steamed; dried
bitterroots lasted for years, and could
be carried as a highly nutritious portable
food, to be reconstituted in soups and stews,
or to be used for thickening gravy.
Camas – The edible
bulbs of the camas, a variety of wild lily,
are starchy and nutritious, with a potato-like
flavour. The bulbs could be gathered year-round,
but were best in the fall. Camas bulbs were
baked, boiled, roasted or dried. Native
women were careful to avoid harvesting the
look-alike, but highly toxic, “Death
Camas” (identified by thickened green
or yellow glands at the base of each flower
petal.)
Saskatoon Berries –
Also known as serviceberries,
sarviceberries, Juneberries
and shadberries, these
sweet, dark purple fruits were eaten raw,
cooked, or dried for use in berry cakes
or pemmican (a combination of dried, pounded
buffalo meat, grease and berries).
Chokecherries –
The chokecherry, a berry that ranges from
yellow to dark purple in colour, is a nutritious
but astringent-tasting fruit. It was harvested
in large quantities for use in many dishes,
including pemmican. The chokecherry demanded
careful handling: both the leaves of the
chokecherry shrub and the pit of the fruit
contain cyanide, and can be fatal if consumed.
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