Source: Wabano Centre for Aboriginal Health
Year: n.d.
“The strawberry teaches forgiveness and peace. The strawberry is shaped like a heart, and strawberries are known to our people as heart berries.” —Elder Lillian Pitawanakwat Often referred to as the heart berry because of its shape, the wild or natural strawberry is an important food and medicine in many indigenous cultures in North America. This little plant carries many teachings. Our Elders say, “Just as the O-day’-min (heart berry) is connected to the strawberry plant by a vast system of leaves, runners, and roots, so is the heart connected to all the organs and parts of the human body. The heart is at the centre of the human.”