Okonoki (Serviceberry)

Have you had a serviceberry?

NPS Photo

Also called Saskatoon, serviceberry provided an important food source of the Blackfeet. The dark purple fruit contains about ten seeds and is plump and juicy. Eaten fresh, dried, or mashed in cakes, it’s most common use was in pemmican, a mixture of animal fat, dried meat, and the crushed berries. Serviceberries contain more than three times the amount of iron and copper in the same weight of raisins. The leaves can be dried for tea and the wood of a serviceberry shrub is quite hard and can be used to make various tools.