Before the European settlement of North America the chokecherry was a very important and integral part of the native Indian diet. The chokecherry, as well as other fall fruit, was stored into the winter in a partly dried or frozen state to be eaten throughout the winter. As well, the plains Indians harvested chokecherry fruit, mixed it with fat and suet and pounded it into the meat of buffalo. This mixture of meat, fruit and fat was known as pemmican, a staple of the native prairie people.

Once you have tasted well made chokecherry syrup you will not forget that flavor. Because of this flavor the chokecherry stands out as a very good crop to base a cottage jelly/syrup industry on.

The fruits of chokecherry are used to make wines, syrups, jellies, and jams. The bark is sometimes used as a flavoring agent in cough syrup. American Indians used bark extract to cure diarrhea. The fruits were used to treat canker sores, cold sores, and added to pemmican. The Paiutes made a medicinal tea from the leaves and twigs to treat colds and rheumatism. The wood was used for arrows, bows, and pipe stems.