Juneteenth is a day of commemoration and a time to reflect on the remarkable resilience of enslaved individuals seeking freedom. The historic record has little on freedom seekers’ experiences during their journey to freedom to escape enslavement. Few details have been found on the survival methods of people fleeing enslavement, including the means to find food and sustenance during their long travels. However, interdisciplinary research has revealed that freedom seekers’ ability to identify edible and medicinal plants was essential to their survival. 1  

In the woodlands they would gather nuts, berries, roots, and wild fruit. Many slaves travelled, ate, and hunted at night to conceal their whereabouts. The darkness also masked the fires they lighted for cooking foraged plants.   

Oftentimes, plants were used for both nutritional and medicinal purposes. For instance, wild raspberries could be eaten directly off the vine, but could also be preserved into marmalades or wine. Raspberry leaves were used as an astringent and to prevent dysentery. The senna plant, found along riverbanks, was used as a coffee replacement by roasting the seeds; it was also used as a laxative. Other common plants included black walnuts, dandelions, and mulberries.2 

Nearly ripened raspberries. Image Credit: Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Ken Druse Garden Photography Collection (AAG# DRU023: Berries) https://iiif.si.edu/mirador/?manifest=https://ids.si.edu/ids/manifest/SG-DRU023015

Senna in bloom in a woodland garden. Image Credit: Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Ken Druse Garden Photography Collection (AAG# DRU084145: Senna) Ken Druse garden photography collection | Collection Contents: AAG.DRU, ref1889 (si.edu)

Despite some knowledge of native plants, it was still a daily struggle to find enough to eat. Josiah Henson recalled in his 1849 autobiography the difficulty of finding food while his family escaped to Canada:

“In the morning, we were as hungry as ever but had nothing to relieve our appetites but a little piece of dried beef. I divided some of this all round, and then started for a second day’s trip in the wilderness. It was a hard trial, and this day is a memorable one in my life.” [3]

While we can never fully grasp how they survived their journeys, becoming familiar with native plants and their many uses may give some insight into the determination and skill exercised by these freedom seekers.

[1] Henson, Josiah. The life of Josiah Henson, formerly a slave, now an inhabitant of Canada, as narrated by himself. 1849.  http://www.loc.gov/resource/lhbtn.21827

[2] Senator John Heinz History Center. “Surviving Off the Land,” chapter 5 in From Slavery to Freedom. https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org/fromslaverytofreedom/#chapter5

[3] Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. From Slavery to Freedom Garden: Wild Edibles Booklette. April 2021. Accessed May 2024. https://pittsburghparks.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Wild-Edible-Booklette.pdf