Indigenous Peoples in Eastern Canada historically used 175+ wild food plants and 52 beverage species, alongside cultivated crops like corn and squash. Wild plants (berries, nuts, greens) provided vitamins A/C, iron, and fiber, often exceeding cultivated sources. Over 400 medicinal plants treated wounds, infections, and digestive issues, with conifers and tannin-rich species widely used. Toxic compounds required careful preparation. Modern diets lack these nutrient-dense foods, highlighting untapped potential for nutrition and cultural revitalization
Imagine nature as a giant supermarket and pharmacy! Native Peoples in Canada ate berries, nuts, and greens from forests and traded corn/beans with neighbors. They made teas from pine needles for colds and used oak bark to heal cuts. Some plants needed special cooking to remove “bad stuff.” Even today, these plants can help us eat healthier and remember old wisdom.
Food Sources
• Staples: Corn (65% of Iroquois diet), wild rice (Ojibwa), maple syrup
• Superfoods: Dandelion greens (11,000 IU vitamin A/100g), rose hips (1600mg vitamin C/100g), hazelnuts (iron)
• Preparation: Acorns leached of tannins, cattail rhizome flour, fermented Dentaria roots
Medicinal Powerhouses
• Antiseptics: Pine resin, balsam fir gum
• Pain Relief: Willow bark (salicin precursor to aspirin), poplar buds
• Digestives: Oak tannins, Coptis trifolia (berberine)
Nutritional Gaps Addressed
• Vitamin C: Spruce needle tea prevented scurvy (Cartier’s crew, 1535)
• Calcium: Dried fish bones + wild greens countered deficiencies
• Fiber: Berry seeds and wild-rice husks
Prioritize:
• Wild blueberries (fiber)
• Dandelion greens (vit A)
• Cedar tea (vit C)
• Groundnuts
Limit:
• Raw acorns (tannins)
• Unprocessed bracken fern (carcinogens)
• Poison ivy (urushiol)
• Water hemlock (neurotoxins)
• Strength: Detailed ethnobotanical catalog, nutritional analysis of 50+ species.
• Gap: Limited data on northern Cree/Naskapi plant use, few clinical trials on efficacy.
Reviving Indigenous plant knowledge could combat modern deficiencies: 31% of Native Canadians lack vitamin C. Wild foods like nettles (4x more iron than spinach) offer sustainable nutrition. Protecting practices like wild-rice harvesting preserves biodiversity and cultural heritage threatened by industrial agriculture.
Forest Floor Tea: Steep dried spruce needles (vitamin C), crushed juniper berries (antioxidants), and sweetfern (Comptonia) leaves. Add maple syrup. Boosts immunity and mimics traditional Algonquin “spring tonic.”
[1] Arnason, John & Hebda, Richard & Johns, Timothy. (2011). Use of plants for food and medicine by Native Peoples of Eastern Canada. Canadian Journal of Botany. 59. 2189-2325. 10.1139/b81-287.
