Voices of Indigenous Partners with Strawberry Wisdom

In honor of Indigenous Peoples' day, Strawberry Wisdom is excited to present the voices of Indigenous partners such as Indigenous history, Artisans, Scholars, and Knowledge Keepers. We invite you to join in the sharing of knowledge and community. 

Strawberry Wisdom Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to storytelling, land-based practices and mental health awareness, serving Hudson and Western New York. Its name and mission come from a letter written in 1907 by Clara Miller, a former student of the Carlisle Industrial Residential School. In it she shared news of her family and the friends she missed, and promised to send some of her summer strawberries to those still at the school. For the Haudenosaunee, strawberries are heart medicine. In 2018, Clara's great-granddaughter, Krissy Hill, came across the letter in the digital archives. Her family hadn't known it existed, and she took its single line, "I shall send you some of our strawberries," as a responsibility she now carries as one of Clara's descendants. Today Strawberry Wisdom offers that same heart medicine to its community. An active board of directors guides the work through three areas of stewardship. The first is Pedagogy and Language, which keeps learning materials grounded in culturally appropriate ways of sharing knowledge. The second is Traditional Knowledge, which honors the lasting connection between the land and the People through gratitude and abundance. The third is Advocacy and Governance, which protects the organization's legal integrity, community resources and intellectual property.