"Despite today's Arctic temperatures, I feel winter beginning to ease her grip. I'm looking forward to the spring thaw, rushing water leaping and dancing down the prairie hills and coulees. I'll soon be searching for the tiny buds of the chokecherry tree.
I remember the fragrance of the blooming trees and tart-berry taste of the deep purple chokecherries that will ripen in July.
This year, more than ever, I am eager to renew my relationship with the chokecherry because I've learned they are a wonder fruit, and they're wild and free for the taking in many places.
I've always known that this fruit was good medicine. My grandmother introduced me to many wild plants, but chokecherries - well, no self-respecting connoisseur of the Plains bounty would have a cupboard that lacks at least one jar of chokecherry jelly.
These fruits are harbingers for me. Many times when they visit me in my dreams, they predict poor or good health. I might be walking in a green valley (in a dream) and will come upon wild chokecherries hanging in clusters, full and rich. Then again, I might see them green or just turning red, still bitter. I am most concerned when I see the clusters full of webs, small and dry."
Get the Story:Dorreen Yellow Bird: Take two chokecherries and call in the morning (The Grand Forks Herald 2/20)
pwpwd More Dorreen Yellow Bird:
Yellow Bird: Sadness on a trip to Standing Rock (2/18)
Yellow Bird: It's time for a change in music (2/11)
Yellow Bird: 'Sioux' drives Indian students away (2/7)
Yellow Bird: Another cold January in North Dakota (1/30)
Yellow Bird: Tribal casinos should be alcohol free (1/28)
Yellow Bird: Race and gender in presidential race (1/23)
Yellow Bird: Barack Obama is my choice for 2008 (1/16)
Yellow Bird: Artman right on off-reservation gaming (1/9)
Yellow Bird: Barack Obama's big win in Iowa (1/7)
Yellow Bird: Wild animals in our environment (12/31)
Yellow Bird: Russell Means makes a point (12/24)
Yellow Bird: Christmas can be depressing too (12/19)
Yellow Bird: It's McCain v. Clinton in 2008 (12/18)
Yellow Bird: UND graduates Indian nurses (12/12)
Yellow Bird: Candy shop in Grand Forks creative (12/11)
Yellow Bird: Teachers and cultural sensitivity (12/5)
Yellow Bird: Instant wealth in a poor community (11/29)
Yellow Bird: Don't feel guilty about Thanksgiving (11/22)
Yellow Bird: Indian people take care of their own (11/19)
Yellow Bird: From 'Nutcracker' to a 'Beat Down' (11/14)
Yellow Bird: Ghosts haunt Standing Rock veteran (11/7)
Yellow Bird: Reservation center helps those in need (11/5)
Yellow Bird: Put an end to 'Fighting Sioux' nick (10/31)
Yellow Bird: Generosity of Shakopee Tribe (10/24)
Yellow Bird: Foreign journalists shared cultural gifts (10/22)
Yellow Bird: Domestic violence happens every day (10/15)
Yellow Bird: Indian adoptees find their way home (10/10)
Yellow Bird: The BIA and its broken promises (10/8)
Yellow Bird: Halloween marks coming of winter (10/3)
Yellow Bird: Diabetes too common among Indians (10/1)
