This geocache is part of the Gold Country GeoTour – The Prequel: Be A Guest. This GeoTour focuses on a step back in time to learn about before the Gold Rush ensued: languages of the region’s culturally diverse families, handed down traditions such as recipes, flora and fauna, historic sites of significance, and points of interest. These stories will help preserve the oral languages and traditions of the region as well as assist in educating visitors and locals alike to the cultural diversity and environmental sensitivity of the region.
Saskatoon: Amelanchier alnifolia, also known as Serviceberry, Prairie Berry, Juneberry, Amelanchier, and Shadbush
Secwepemc: speqpqéllp, speqpeqełp (saskatoon bush), speqpeq7úw̓i (saskatoon berries)
Tsilhqot’in: ch’in (saskatoon shrub), dɨg (saskatoon berries)
Stl’atl’imx (Fraser River): stexl̕ús (dry tasting, bitter saskatoon berry variety) stsáqwem (any saskatoon berry), stsaqwem7úl (real saskatoon variety) spéqpeq (white saskatoon berry, high elevation, and juicy variety), st̕ecl̕ús (sweet saskatoon berry variety)
Nlaka’pamux: spəqpáq (low bush watery variety of saskatoon), scaqʷm (saskatoons)
Nsyilxcən: siyaʔ, siʔiłp (service berry bush, saskatoon bush)
Líl̕wat: Stsáqwem (saskatoon berry) a berry usually blue or purple, saskatoon berry most familiar to the Lil̓wat area
English translation: berry bush
Family: Rosaceae
Origin: Native
Duration: Perennial
Color: Leaves green changing to yellows, oranges, and reds in the fall, white flowers, fruits fuchsia-red to deep purple.
Typical Bloom (varies by elevation): Late spring (late April to early June). Blooms may last from 3 to 20 days, and fruits are harvested from in early summer (mid July through mid August).
Saskatoons are shrubs and sometimes trees. They are deciduous with slender grey branches that grow reaching upwards can be up to 6 meters in height. The sweeping branches hang so that they topple over, having twiggy branches with finely toothed oval shaped leaves. The vein covered leaves are about 1 to 2 inches in length and taper lance-like to a point.
The dark green and smooth leaves of the Saskatoon turn to bright yellows, oranges, and reds in the fall making for fantastic fall landscapes in the Interior. In the spring the bushes produce red to purple leaf buds with their bright showy flowers arriving in early April to June depending on the elevation. The flowers of the Saskatoon are white, with bright anthers forming in in the centers of the 1 cm long 5 petal blooms and are produced in clusters.
The seedy fruits of the Saskatoon look similar to wild blueberries in shape and size having 2 -5 meaty seeds in the center. The 1.5 cm berries are reds to deep dark purples when ripe and may have a white powdery substance known as a “bloom” covering them. Depending on the location and elevation of the Saskatoon bush, the fruit will be ripe any time from late June through August.
The Saskatoon prefers sandy soils and does not do particularly well in clay or poorly drained ground. They grow along streams, in cervices along the hill sides, in open forests, and along the roadsides. They prefer the warm sunny slopes of low to middle elevation growing all over the Interior of British Columbia. The Saskatoon has incredible root systems that easily propagate and help them withstand fires. The new saplings grow up out of the ashes and scarred earth from their extensive root systems underground. The bush is native to North America being a favorite food supply for people and animals.
Indigenous Cultural Notes: Misâskwatômina, (pronounced Mis-sak-qua-too-mina) is Cree for “the tree of many branches”. The word Saskatoon is an anglicization of this Cree word. In British Columbia the Nsyilxcən people recognize 8 different varieties of this species, and each has a name describing its’ characteristics. The term ‘síyaʔ’ is a general term used to describe the bushes.
These reddish-purple berries were, and still are harvested in the early summer to be dried. Today many people can and freeze the berries for later use as syrups, pies, jams, and jellies. The Nlaka’pamux used the Saskatoon berries with meats and in soups and stews. It was a main additive to pemmican. Saskatoon berries would be pressed with other berries like wild strawberries, Red-osier dogwood berries and made into cakes with the dried and pounded flours made of Arrowleaf Balsam Root seeds and pine nuts. The cakes would then be dried for storage. Sometimes the dried berries were added to bitterroot in storage to keep it from becoming too bitter!
The Saskatoon bush and fruits were also used medicinally. The berries juice was used to cure stomach ailments, to make eye drops and eardrops, and was also used as a mild laxative. Saskatoon branches were easily hollowed out and arrows and pipes would be made from them.
The Saskatoon was considered the most important of the 20 different berries the Secwépemc harvest due to its many uses, sweet flavor, and ability to keep well dried. Breaking off the branches and beating the branches and stems with a stick would knock the berries off easily for harvest while also serving to encourage new growth through the pruning while harvesting method referred to as “speming”.
Interesting Facts: Saskatoon bushes can survive temperatures of -50 to -60 degrees Celsius and can live 30 to 50 years! Saskatoons are full of vitamins and minerals and are cultivated in Canada, the United States, and even Europe for the antioxidant fruits. With the variety of environments that the Saskatoon is hardy in, it has even become naturalized in some countries of Europe.
Saskatoon berries were very important to early settlers as well as the Indigenous nations of the land and the Saskatchewan city of Saskatoon gets its name from the Cree word for these plentiful and sweet berries present on the prairies.
Name Examples for various varieties of Saskatoons recognized by British Columbia’s Indigenous people:
Nlaka’pamux: snk̓y̓epúpseʔ (poor saskatoon variety); sq̓ʷyúseʔ (sweet saskatoon ripen variety, 2 meters tall); nəq̓naq̓óq̓ʷseʔ (drop off as soon as ripe saskatoon variety)
Stl’atl’imx (Pemberton): (s-)tsáqw əәm (berries); (s-)tsáqw m-az’ (bush)
Stl’atl’imx (Fraser River): (s-)tsáqw əәm (berries); (s-)tsáqw m-az’ (bush); stsaqw əәm-ʔúl ‘real/original saskatoons’ (the main variety); (s)pəә́qpəәq ‘white' (low variety) (cf. Proto-Salish pəәq ‘white’ – Kuipers 2002); (s)wəәłkw aʔúʔsaʔ (~ (s)wałkw aʔúʔsaʔ) (red-berried variety); (s)tł’əәxl'ús (sweet variety); təәxl’ús (bittervariety); nəәq’-nəәq’úq’saʔ (“rotten” variety)
Nlaka’pamux: stsaqw m-éłp (bush) ; stseqw m-úy (real, original, regular or“tall” variety); spəәqpáq, spəәqpaq-éłp (white or low variety); siʔh-úseʔ, y’h-ús(eʔ), siʔhuseʔ-éłp (sweet/good fruit tall variety); qw uʔqw uʔuseʔ-éłp (watery fruited variety); snk’y’ep-úpseʔ ‘little coyote berry’ (small variety); təәxtəәx-óxseʔ (little bitter berry variety); tł’əәxw ix w -úseʔ (little sweet berry variety); nəәq’naq’-óqw ’seʔ (little rotten berries variety)
Secwepemc: speqpeq (berries,regular variety); speqpeqełp (bush, regular variety); stsíqw em, stsíqw u (red variety)
Medicinal plant information is for historical information only. Gold Country Communities Society is not encouraging harvesting of native plants for food and/or medicine.
Researched and written by Lana Rae Brooks
http://dspace.library.uvic.ca/bitstream/handle/1828/5091/Appendix%202B%20%20UVicSpace%20Indigenous%20names%20of%20native%20species_BIG.pdf
https://www.okanagan.bc.ca/sites/default/files/2021-03/indigenous_garden_plant_guide_full_pdf.pdf
https://shuswappassion.ca/history/the-secwepemc-use-of-wild-plants/
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/saskatoon-berry
https://www.ediblewildfood.com/saskatoon.aspx
https://sierraclub.bc.ca/saskatoon-berry/
https://www.firstvoices.com/explore/FV/sections/Data
(Turner et al. 1980:120, 122; Parish et al. 1996: 55).