NATIVE AMERICAN FOODS

One of my granddaughters gave me the idea for this article. She asked for some suggestions for a dessert she was making for a Pot-luck dinner with an Indian Theme.

When I used to visit schools, one of the first questions I was asked was...What did Indians eat?

The Three Sisters (Maize (Corn). Squash, and Beans, were the most commonly grown vegetables for many of the native people. They complimented each other as the bean vines climbed the corn stalks and the squash grew in between the stalks to keep out the weeds.

According to many origin stories, they, along with tobacco, were the gift of First Woman (Mother Earth), to her children. They first grew from her body after she was buried. Before the people had to depend on wild plants to supplement their meat diet. In bad years of drought or other natural disasters, the people would starve, With the Three Sisters they were guaranteed food from their gardens.

Another favorite food of the people living around the lakes was wild rice gathered in ca noes. Rice could be used with fish to make a delicious stew. Rice pudding made an excellent dessert after they had goats ad cows for milk,

Corn of course was a staple. Ground it was used for cereal, corn bread, and corn pudding. Not to mention 'popcorn'. We invented it. It was an accident of course but we still invented it. Even today Corn Soup is popular at gatherings. Then there is the ever popular corn on the cob. The Hopi grow four colors of corn which are used in ceremonies. Ground it was used to make “piki.” A paper thin bread baked in an open oven.

Natural food, plants and berries were prepared in different ways, primarily cooked. Sassafras and dandelion were used to make tea, still popular today. I have never heard of native women baking pies, but a wild berry pie or a pumpkin pie would serve as a dessert for a meal with an Indian Theme.

Although deer, in the east, and buffalo in the west, were the principle meat, all sorts of small game was shoot or trapped and eaten. Usually rabbit, squirrel, birds were shot by young hunters honing their skill. Wild turkey was also very popular among n native people around here.

The next question I usually was asked was.....What did they eat with? Some boy would always yell out. “With their fingers and the girls would make a funny face ad go,,,”Ugh!”

In the long ago times the women cooked in the belly of a large animal, hung on a wooden tripod. They would fill it with water and put hot rocks into it until the water was boiling and then take out the rocks and put in meat and vegetables. Sometimes they didn't take out the rocks. Haven't you ever heard of “stone” soup? When the soup or stew was done they would cut up “the pot” and eat it,

Later they cooked in pottery pots as well as tightly woven baskets sealed with pitch. Why didn't they burn​? Here's a little trick in Boy Scout Survival camp. Take a wax paper cup (not Styrofoam), fill it with water and set it on hot coals. As long as there is liquid in the cup it will not burn. Good for making coffee or hot chocolate if you don't have a pot. Metal tools including pots were very popular trade items when the white men came.