The Future is Abundant
A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture

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Native People

The Native Americans saw the entire landscape as the source of their food. In addition to the abundance of fish, which was the staple of their diet, Northwest Indians harvested acorns, hazel nuts and pine nuts where available, and gathered the many vegetables, herbs and fruits which grew wild throughout the region.

One of the best introductions to the indigenous uses of native plants is provided by Nancy Turner in her two-volume set, Food Plants of British Columbia Indians, and in her companion volume, Plants in British Columbian Indian Technology. These books span the traditional uses of plants in both the Maritime and Interior regions.

Then as now, eating sometimes took on an added, social significance. As Nancy Turner describes it in Food Plants of the British Columbia Indians, Volume 2, Interior Peoples:

Every year in late spring, when the "Indian potato" and yellow avalanche lily (Erythronium grandiflorum) corms and other "roots" were ready to be dug, families gathered at Botanie from all over the surrounding countryside -- Thompson, Lillooet, and even Shuswap peoples, the former acting as hosts since they owned the valley -- to partake in the harvest. The valley assumed the atmosphere of a country fair, with games and competitions, visiting between old friends, reuniting of relatives, and undoubtedly courting of sweethearts.

The Future is Abundant A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture

Native People

The Future is Abundant
A Guide to Sustainable Agriculture