Food: Only the blue or purple berries of elderberry are edible. They were eaten fresh, dried, or frozen. Ripe elderberries were found throughout the tawwa ’etwen (summer) and ’amne ’etwen (fall) seasons. The active alkaloids in elderberry plants are hydrocyanic acid and sambucine. Both alkaloids will cause nausea so care should be observed with this plant. Elderberries are high in vitamin C. The red berries of other species are toxic and should not be gathered. Medicine: Edible berries and flower were used for medicine. Instruments: Flutes and whistles were constructed by boring holes into stems hollowed out with hot sticks. Clapper sticks were made by hollowing out and splitting the stem and clapping the two halves against each other. Clapper sticks were used ceremonially in the round-house to accompany singing and dancing. Implements: Dyes from the berries were used for basketry. Elderberry branches were used to make the shaft of arrows. The pith of the stems was used as tinder, and the stem itself was employed as a twirling stick for starting the fire. *Fire drills were made from young shoots of elderberry. Toy: Hollowed-out elderberry stems were also made into squirt guns. Cooked berries are edible, and can also be made into a juice or a tea. Flowers are edible and can also be made into a tea.