Native American: Cooking by the 13 Moons - July: Berry Moon (Southwest)

July is the 6th Moon known as the Berry Moon, a time when the land offers its greatest abundance of all berries and fruit. The Berry Moon is about active gathering, preservation, and responsibility. This was historically a busy and joyful time for the Anishinaabe to harvest berries at their peak, knowing these foods would nourish them both now and through the coming seasons. The Anishinaabe spent much of this month harvesting, drying, and preserving berries and other wild fruits for the colder seasons. Berry Moon reflects planning, care, and gratitude, taking only what is needed and honoring the land, abundance brings responsibility, and preparation is an act of respect. This session we’ll prepare two dishes, Berry Chicken Salad and Blue Corn with Berries. We’ll enjoy Cedar Berry Tea.

If the tour is full, please add your name to the waitlist. We will notify you if a spot opens.

April Smith

April Smith is an enrolled member of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. She is also an

Indigenous Educator and Facilitator, an Herbalist from Cornell University, a Curriculum Designer, and her work is rooted in Ojibwe cultural education and nutrition, Indigenous Food Sovereignty, and community wellness. With over 16 years of experience designing and facilitating learning experiences for communities and organizations, April brings a unique approach that blends Anishinaabe foodways with modern wellness practices. Her work is grounded in reciprocity, sustainability, and respect for ancestral knowledge. She teaches that food is medicine and that every ingredient has a story, one that connects us all through shared humility and care for Mother Earth. April’s Indigenous Cooking Class Series runs from January 2026 through May 2026, featuring five seasonal classes that celebrate traditional Anishinaabe foods and share how the Anishinaabe people lived by the 13 Moon System. Cooking by the 13 Moons: Indigenous Seasons of Food Series invites participants to rediscover the relationship between food, culture, and the land, an experience that nourishes both body and spirit

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