ADOBE WALLS
The name of a trading post in the Texas Panhandle area on the Canadian River. Adobe Walls is infamous as the site of a terrible battle between 28 white men and one woman, and the massed forces of some 700 Kiowa, Comanche, and Cheyenne, in June 1874. The Native Americans wanted to destroy the contingent at Adobe Walls to protest at the white men’s wholesale slaughter of the buffalo, which accorded no respect to the animal which was so vital to the survival of the tribes.
Despite their numbers, the white settlers had the advantage of guns, and managed to fight off the Natives, who were massacred. Some 100 died at Adobe Walls; only three of the white men perished.
AGRICULTURE
When the huge animals that formed the primary part of the diet of the early Native Americans eventually died out, they were forced to turn their attention to hunting smaller prey, including birds. Around the same time, Native Americans also began to forage for wild plants, not only as a source of food but also as a source of medicine.
It may come as a surprise that 60 percent of the food we eat today comes from plants that were discovered, and then developed, by early Native Americans. These foods include the potato, the tomato, and, most important of all, maize, or corn.
The first corn came from a wild grass called teosinte that grew in Mexico. The early men and women that lived there managed to modify this grass by selecting those with the fattest heads and cross-fertilizing them with other hardy grasses. By a time a thousand years prior to the birth of Christ, corn was the most important vegetable foodstuff in Mexico. The cultivation of corn then spread into the American southwest and was adopted by three civilizations that became famed for their farming methods. These were the Anasazi, the Mogollan, and the Hohokam.
The earliest of these three peoples were the Mogollan, who dwelled on the borders of what is now New Mexico and Arizona between A.D. 150 and 1450. Their homes—subterranean pits covered by a “roof” of brush and plaster made from mud—would develop into stone dwellings.
Next came the Hohokam, who lived in the scorchingly hot Sonoran desert west of the mountains that bordered the Mogollan areas. They lived between A.D. 200 and 1450. The harshness of their environment forced them to become ingenious, and they discovered that they could make the dusty desert soils and sands blossom by means of irrigation. They built hundreds of miles of canals, up to 25 feet wide, sourcing their water from the Gila and Salt rivers. Their crops included corn, beans, squash, and cotton. Examination of Hohokam remains has revealed rubber balls; this is a mystery, since at the time of the Hohokam, rubber was unavailable in Arizona.
Around A.D. 1450 the Hohokam seem to have simply disappeared. It is possible that a drought or a crop failure caused them to disband and seek other places to live.
In the meantime, the Anasazi people—otherwise known as “The Ancient Ones”—arose to the north of Hohokam territory. They further developed effective systems of irrigation, and farmed maize and cotton, learning along the way to weave the cotton crop into a useful fabric.
THE THREE SISTERS
There were three crops that were fundamental to the Native American, and their cultivation was developed and refined by the invention of a method that was a superb example of what we call “sustainable farming” these days. The “Three Sisters” in question were corn, beans, and squash.
According to an Iroquois myth, these three plants were three sisters, also known as Deohako, who had been gifted to mankind by the Great Spirit. The Three Sisters thrive best in each other’s company, and another of their names reflects this: collectively they were referred to as “Our Sustainers.” The planting of the Three Sisters was accompanied by songs and ceremonies, the three seeds being planted together in the same mound of soil. Each of these plants not only supplies a healthy diet but, as the unused parts are plowed back in, adds nutrients to the soil. The first crop of green corn is still celebrated with festivals and dancing.
The symbiosis between the three plants has a wonderful logic. The corn—growing straight and strong—provides a “pole” of support for the bean plants to scramble up toward the sun. These beans have the additional benefit of helping to fix nitrogen into the soil, which further fertilizes the ground. The vines of the bean also strengthen the corn stalks, making them less liable to wind damage. Thirdly, the squash—which have shallow roots—not only act as a mulch, covering the ground and suppressing weeds, but also help keep the soil moist. Squash plants with spiny skins also help to deter any predators. At the end of the harvest, the debris of leaves and stalks left by all three plants would be dug back into the soil, enriching it even further.
As well as growing beautifully together, the nutritional value of the Three Sisters complement one another perfectly, too. The beans, when dried, not only provide protein but can be stored against the winter. The corn is starchy and full of carbohydrates, providing energy. The squash not only contains vitamins but its seeds yield a useful oil.
Native Americans invented this system with no knowledge of vitamins, nitrogen-fixing capabilities, or any of the technical information that we know of today. Further, the natural world, it was believed, offered up signs that the time had come either to plant the seeds or to harvest the crop. For example, the return of the Canada Geese signaled the time for planting the corn.
ALEUT
Originally from the Aleutian Islands, which extend in a westerly direction from Alaska for a distance of about 1,200 miles to the Pacific Ocean, the name Aleut is believed to mean either “Island” or, alternatively, “Bald Rock,” from a Russian word. “Alaska” is from an Aleutian phrase meaning “mainland.”
Aleut culture was very similar to that of the Inuit. Both peoples belong to what is termed the Arctic Culture Area. Their livelihood was based almost entirely on the ocean: they hunted sea mammals, such as otters and whales, and fished, using the traditional baidarkas—a kayak-like vessel made from waterproofed oiled sealskins stretched over a wooden frame. Much of the hunting for larger sea mammals was carried out using a harpoon. The Aleut seafood diet was supplemented with seasonal berries, fruits, and roots. Aleuts lived in partially buried homes called barabaras—large buildings shared by a number of families. Beautiful, intricately decorated baskets were made from the rye grass growing along the edges of the beaches. Shells and amber were used as currency.
In such a harsh climate, the Aleuts had to be particularly ingenious about keeping warm. Their clothing was generally double-layered to preserve heat, made from animal hides and also animal guts. It is the Aleuts that we have to thank for the parka—the long, hooded coat that is worn all over the world.
The coming of the Europeans and their involvement in the fur trade had a significant impact on the traditional Aleut way of life. The first explorer, Vitus Bering of Denmark, working under the auspices of the Russian Czar Peter the Great, arrived on the Aleutian Islands in 1741. His reports of the rich sealife and opportunities for fur trading soon saw a large contingent of prospectors from Siberia arriving in the area. Their methods of working were harsh for the Aleuts. Arriving in a village, hostages were captured, primarily women and children. The men were then forced to trade furs in return for the safe return of their families. The women and children were used as slaves, forced to skin the animals and clean the furs. The Aleuts rebelled in 1761 and succeeded in killing a group of traders; however, the Russians responded by sending in a veritable armada of warships, and blasted many Aleut villages to smithereens with their cannons.
Thereafter, the Russians made some attempts to regulate the fur trade and to treat the Aleuts and the Inuit more fairly, including actually paying them for their efforts. This just meant that the traders found new ways to cheat the Aleut, inventing charges such as fees for food and transportation.