Native American Food
Corn, or Maize, Beans and Squash
For many American Native people this triad is called
the Three Sisters.
This food trinity has a variety of names through
out Native Country, but these three staples
remain the heart of most Indigenous diets.
An interesting fact about this Food Trio is that
they are all interdependent on one another.
Beans grow up the Corn stalks and add the nutrients
(Nitrogen) to the soil that the others need to grow.
Squash is planted in between them to keep weeds out.
All three of these foods originally came from the
Indigenous People of Mexico, Central and South America,
then slowly made their way North to our Natives.
A brief History of American Native Food
American Natives were reasonably healthy before the European Invasions.
They lived on the land and in some areas cultivated rich soils and grew crops.
For the Bison hunting Nations that were always on the move,
their diets were mixtures of the meat that they hunted and the
plants, berries and fruits that were found everywhere that they went.
This country was a bountiful place hundreds of years ago
and Native people survived quite nicely.
After the Invasions, everything changed and none of it was good for Natives.
Those who were sent to Reservations starved many times.
Food meant for them often ended up in the hands of unscrupulous agents,
who dispersed the supplies to themselves, their families and friends.
Or just outright sold it for profit.
The Native people in the East were the first to be affected
by the European outsiders and their gluttony.
The vast natural and developed Native food supplies
were quickly devoured by the new people.
Although saved from starvation by the generosity of Natives,
these greedy ones were convinced that this wondrous
new land was theirs to take and use as they pleased,
calling it their Manifest Destiny.
When the food supplies in the East began running out,
the invaders started moving West.
All across the country, the long Wagon Trains of Pioneers
wiped out the natural food sources along the way.
Like Locust, they decimated everything in their path.
As for farming among Native Nations, it became quite difficult
to grow or hunt just ahead of oncoming settlers or an Army.
In the Great Plains, the Natives who refused to go to
Reservations were a little better off, for a while.
But, once the Railroads were in place and Buffalo Bill Cody
and others killed off nearly the entire Bison population,
there was little food left for the Plains People.
Until the land and Gold Rushes of the 1800's,
most Native People in the far West and Northwest
still had adequate natural food sources.
American Native Food Today
Today, American Natives need only travel to their nearest
grocery store to find an abundance of food.
Many Natives do still grow some of their own food,
raising geographically relevant crops that help to
sustain their people through the hard times.
Corn, beans and squash are still grown by many Nations,
however, very few Native people are successful commercial
farmers as they lack the investment capital to get started.
Southwestern Nations, like the Navajo and Hopis
use the Ancient irrigation methods of their
Ancestors to grow a colorful collection of corn.
These Natives harvest cactus, plant vegetables and chilies
and raise sheep which are rarely eaten, but provide the
abundance of wool used for their beautiful woven rugs.
Historically, California Natives were unlike most others,
they did not grow much of anything to eat, they didn't have to,
it was already there, all they had to do was take it.
The insulting title of "diggers" was given to these Natives,
by outsiders who observed them frequently digging in the dirt.
The state was rich in nutritious wild roots, bulbs and insects
and thousands of California Natives lived very well on the
multitude of Fruits, Wild Game, Nuts, Roots and Berries.
Today, with little good land left to raise crops, many Tribes
have built Casinos instead to help support their People.
Several Southern Nations like the Seminoles of Florida,
and the Mississippi Band of Choctaws, have Casinos,
raise Cattle and grow a variety of food crops.
Some Tribes in Minnesota harvest wild rice
and other related food products both to
share with their own people and also to sell.
Natives in Northern Plains States, like North and
South Dakota, Idaho and Montana are raising cattle,
while trying to forge a new future for their children
by tapping into the Renewable Energy market with
Wind Turbines and Solar Power.
The Northwest Nations of Washington and
Oregon raise Salmon and grow Berries and Grapes
and also have geothermal potential.
The New England Nations have a wide variety of Shellfish,
Corn, Maple Syrup and wonderful varieties of
Apples, Pears, Grapes, Berries, including an
abundance of Cranberries in Massachusetts.
Many Tribes also grow tobacco and cotton,
but as they are not food, they were not
counted among the Native Nations crops.
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