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HARDWOOD FOREST The Gifts of the Earth Year after year, the Earth offers a multitude of edible, aromatic, medicinal and colouring plants And year after year, each nation gathers a hundred or so species that contribute to the general well-being of its members. The task of gathering the plants falls mainly to the women in Aboriginal societies, and the gathering activity occupies an important place in the calendar. The Mohawk had their own thanksgiving services for maple syrup and strawberries. In Iroquoian, at least six consecutive month names also refer to stages in the growth cycle: from April to September, onerahtokha, "small leaf"; oneratakowa, "large leaf"; oiariha, "unripened fruit"; oiarikowa, "ripe fruit"; seskeha, "brush"; and sehske'ko:wa', "large brush". The Abenaki harvest maple sap, fern fronds and wild leeks in the spring, wild strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, gooseberries and blueberries in the summer, cranberries in the fall, and medicinal plants in every season. In the Iroquoian calendar, the fall was the season for gathering acorns and nuts; the plants and fruits gathered were then eaten fresh or preserved for use as flavouring in foods such as the corn mush (or hominy) prepared by the Huron-Wendat.

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