Pueblo Indian Crops and Gardens
The Cultivation of Wild Plants and Crops by the Native Pueblos
A study of the the Pueblo Indians of the San Juan area of New Mexico was carried out in the late 1960s by a doctoral student, Richard Ford, at the University of Michigan; the study looked at the relationship between the San Juan Pueblo Indians and the native wild plants of that area.
The study concluded that San Juan Pueblo farmers referenced plants either as useful, in that they could be used for crops, medicinal plants or edible wild plants, or not so useful, such as weeds. Weeds were disposed of but a strip of unplanted land on the edge of a field was left bare in the hope that useful plants such as Bee Plant, Sunflower and Purslane would flourish.
Cultivation of Wild Plants
Other plants such as Blue Trumpets (Ipomopsis longiflora) and Indian Tea (Thelesperma megapotamicum) were encouraged to grow in ditches; some medicinal and culinary plants were specifically transplanted to the ditches by the Pueblo Indians, such as Bee Balm (Monarda menthaefolia). If plants were collected for use by the Pueblo Indians, it was ensured that not all examples of the plant were taken at any one time to allow re-population of the plant, as in keeping with Native American ways.
Only use of non-flowering branches of Apache Plume (Fallugia paradoxa) was taken as brooms or snares; cactus stems removed for eating were broken off at the joint to ensure survival of the plant. Bee Plant greens (or Amaranth), which were used for cooking, were broken off above the soil line, to stimulate continued plant growth.
Yucca, an ingredient for natural shampoo, used the roots of the plant, so seed pods were buried after collection to start new growth of a plant. The burying of unused plant parts also had another significant meaning for Pueblo Indians; it allowed the spirit of the plant to return to the spirit world.
Extinction of Traditional Native Farming
Pueblo Indians have seen the destruction and reduction of their traditional farming lands in the last one hundred years; Pueblo farming is now very much similar to the rest of North American farming. However, some Pueblo Indians still cultivate their own crops of squash, corn, chiles or beans and use some of the wild species of plants growing there too.
Waffle Gardens of the Zuni Pueblo
The Zuni Pueblo were known for the distinctive waffle gardens, named for texture of the surface of the soil which looked like a giant waffle. The garden was divided into two to three foot rectangular pieces of land which had clay walls standing a few inches high; this ensured the entrapment and conservation of moisture. Today, few waffle gardens survive.
Preservation of Traditional Native Crops
Traditional Pueblo Indians still carry out the practice of growing and using native crops although it is a practice which is being overcome by modern ways; wild plants still gathered include wild celery, ground cherry pods, bee plant greens, wild onions, pinon nuts and sunflower seeds. The Indian Tea plant's dried flowers and stems are also still used to brew hot tea.
For the last 25 years, a Tucson-based (Arizona) non-profit organization, Native Seeds/SEARCH, has been working to preserve South Western U.S. and Northern Mexico traditional native crops. They work with the Pueblo Indians, amongst others, to preserve centuries old seed strains and encourage the continuation of native garden practices.
References:
Dunmire, William W., Tierney, Gail D., 1995 Wild Plants of the Pueblo Province Sante Fe, USA: Museum of New Mexico Press
For Related reading:
Hopi Indian Use of Native Plants
Kitchen tools of New Mexico Native Americans
|
Comments
Latest Articles