1
00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:25,440
Have you ever enjoyed a squash?

2
00:00:25,440 --> 00:00:32,480
Summer corn, some flower seeds, if so, if so, you've eaten foods related to plants

3
00:00:32,480 --> 00:00:35,720
that were part of native diets in this area for centuries.

4
00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:41,160
Wisconsin today is filled with farmland, and it's not just dairy farms, though I do love

5
00:00:41,160 --> 00:00:42,560
a good cheese.

6
00:00:42,560 --> 00:00:47,240
Everything from corn to cherries to soybeans and more is grown here, but this region's

7
00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,440
agricultural history is way older than most people realize.

8
00:00:51,440 --> 00:00:55,920
Modern thousands of years ago, indigenous farmers in this region were growing and using

9
00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:02,720
a wide variety of plants.

10
00:01:02,720 --> 00:01:09,040
People in the past cultivated plant foods, and they also domesticated certain plants

11
00:01:09,040 --> 00:01:15,560
that they grew in garden, but overall it reflects the management of food resources by indigenous

12
00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:16,560
people.

13
00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:21,720
You know, we were placed here, we saved by the creator, and we were told by the creator

14
00:01:21,720 --> 00:01:26,180
that everything that we needed to live a good life is already here.

15
00:01:26,180 --> 00:01:30,200
We just had to observe everything and give it a name.

16
00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:38,320
Before Europeans came to this continent, we've been doing things like riceing.

17
00:01:38,320 --> 00:01:39,960
We still do that today.

18
00:01:39,960 --> 00:01:43,200
We still do it exactly the same way.

19
00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:47,600
What's the story behind native agriculture around the Great Lakes and Eastern North America?

20
00:01:47,600 --> 00:01:53,320
This history goes back about 5,000 years when indigenous people in the area began cultivating

21
00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:56,400
and domesticating seed-bearing plants.

22
00:01:56,400 --> 00:02:00,880
So what is the difference between cultivation and domestication?

23
00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:07,440
So cultivation is intentionally planting seeds in the ground in order to grow crops in particular

24
00:02:07,440 --> 00:02:08,440
areas.

25
00:02:08,440 --> 00:02:15,440
Domesticates are when the plant has gone through genetic changes that signal it is a

26
00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:16,440
domesticate.

27
00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:20,880
So domesticated plants typically have a larger seed than wild plants.

28
00:02:20,880 --> 00:02:27,080
And then domesticated seeds typically have a thinner seed coat, an outer seed coat, compared

29
00:02:27,080 --> 00:02:28,280
to wild.

30
00:02:28,280 --> 00:02:35,520
So this is a wild sunflower seed, and this, just like you know, are in the regular, now

31
00:02:35,520 --> 00:02:37,200
sunflower seeds today.

32
00:02:37,200 --> 00:02:41,600
So as we grow different foods, we want to eat more, right?

33
00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,560
We want to grow less so that we can eat more.

34
00:02:44,560 --> 00:02:49,960
So we want the plants to get bigger, so we'll grow the crops to get bigger and bigger.

35
00:02:49,960 --> 00:02:53,440
That's why we usually see domesticates as bigger plants.

36
00:02:53,440 --> 00:02:59,680
People probably were actively selecting and choosing the plants that had the bigger seeds

37
00:02:59,680 --> 00:03:04,680
or produced more seeds, and then setting those aside to plant the following year.

38
00:03:04,680 --> 00:03:12,960
That sort of interaction with the plants over many, many years results in domestication.

39
00:03:12,960 --> 00:03:17,920
In Eastern North America, plant domestication began during what's known as the archaic period

40
00:03:17,920 --> 00:03:19,440
in native history.

41
00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:24,600
About 6,000 years ago, climate and environmental changes created a landscape that was ideal

42
00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:26,500
for cultivating plants.

43
00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:30,360
This included fertile, stable river valleys with good soil.

44
00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:36,440
From about 5,000 to 3,700 years ago, there were at least four plant species that were

45
00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:40,160
domesticated by indigenous peoples in Eastern North America.

46
00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:45,200
The first seed-bearing plants to be domesticated in this region were squash, or gourds.

47
00:03:45,200 --> 00:03:49,000
This was followed by sunflower, marsh elder, and quinoa podium.

48
00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:53,800
These plants are a part of what's known as the Eastern Agricultural Complex.

49
00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:58,920
Three of these plants, squash, marsh elder, and quinoa podium grow really well in soil

50
00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:02,000
beds that are disturbed by annual flooding in certain areas.

51
00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:04,120
They also produce a lot of seeds.

52
00:04:04,120 --> 00:04:08,720
For people cultivating them, this meant the potential for a big return without needing

53
00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:09,720
a lot of work.

54
00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:14,160
But these resources also needed careful tending and smart harvesting practices.

55
00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,320
Today, these are still important aspects of native agriculture.

56
00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:23,840
And I remember very picking with my grandmother, and she said, go fill up your bucket over

57
00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:24,840
here.

58
00:04:24,840 --> 00:04:26,240
But don't take them all.

59
00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:33,120
You always leave some behind, because we never take more than what we need.

60
00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:41,240
We should always leave something behind, which helps it recede, which helps it for the next

61
00:04:41,240 --> 00:04:42,240
year.

62
00:04:42,240 --> 00:04:47,400
What are some foods that are native to this region of Wisconsin, or to Wisconsin as a

63
00:04:47,400 --> 00:04:48,400
whole?

64
00:04:48,400 --> 00:04:49,400
Wild rice.

65
00:04:49,400 --> 00:04:50,400
Yes.

66
00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:56,520
And we know that wild rice, from an archaeological perspective, was being cultivated at least

67
00:04:56,520 --> 00:05:00,880
2,000 years ago, but probably even longer than that.

68
00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:06,960
This is wild rice, but we actually see it burned in the record.

69
00:05:06,960 --> 00:05:10,480
So this is some burned wild rice versus the real.

70
00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:14,160
Plant cultivation and domestication wasn't just happening in this region.

71
00:05:14,160 --> 00:05:16,800
It was taken place all across the Americas.

72
00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:20,200
And as different groups traded with each other and traveled, it bit the spread of certain

73
00:05:20,200 --> 00:05:21,960
plants to new regions.

74
00:05:21,960 --> 00:05:26,640
This is what happened with corn and beans, which were domesticated by indigenous peoples

75
00:05:26,640 --> 00:05:28,120
in Mesoamerica.

76
00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:33,400
Corn, or maize, arrived in this area in about 200 BC during what's known as the Woodland

77
00:05:33,400 --> 00:05:34,400
Period.

78
00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:39,000
Within a few hundred years, it became a very important crop for some native cultures.

79
00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:44,520
This included oniota groups, who also incorporated beans into their agricultural practice.

80
00:05:44,520 --> 00:05:48,000
Another food resource that was especially widespread were nuts.

81
00:05:48,000 --> 00:05:52,000
There's evidence from across North America that people were using nuts like walnuts,

82
00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,360
hickory, acorn, and hazelnuts.

83
00:05:54,360 --> 00:05:58,480
These could be eaten as is, or used to make oils for cooking.

84
00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:04,920
And there is some evidence that indigenous peoples were managing the forests in a way

85
00:06:04,920 --> 00:06:10,800
that ensured that these nut-bearing trees would grow and grow close to the sites where

86
00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:11,800
they were living.

87
00:06:11,800 --> 00:06:15,240
But trees produce more than just nuts and fruit.

88
00:06:15,240 --> 00:06:19,640
Some of them can also make sap that can be turned into delicious maple syrup.

89
00:06:19,640 --> 00:06:22,280
This has been done by indigenous groups for centuries.

90
00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:26,520
The practice of knowing when to tap a tree for its sap shows how attentive native peoples

91
00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:27,960
were to their environment.

92
00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:31,880
This is still true for many people preserving these traditions today.

93
00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:38,520
There is one particular thing that happens, and it's when the snow is still on the ground,

94
00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:43,640
when you put your foot through the snow, and it's kind of powdery underneath it, but it's

95
00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:45,200
crusty on the top.

96
00:06:45,200 --> 00:06:48,880
And that's when the waters begin to flow again.

97
00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:55,920
And so we watch that, and the water that flows in the trees is the first to start flowing.

98
00:06:55,920 --> 00:07:02,960
It tells you that it's time to start tapping the trees to make maple syrup, maple sugar.

99
00:07:02,960 --> 00:07:08,080
It's important to note that farming and plant practices were not universal across this area.

100
00:07:08,080 --> 00:07:12,160
Different cultural groups use a wide variety of food resources and approaches.

101
00:07:12,160 --> 00:07:16,960
Some relied more heavily on crops and agriculture, while others chose to prioritize hunting

102
00:07:16,960 --> 00:07:17,960
and gathering.

103
00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:22,000
For those groups who focused on increasing cultivation of the land and plants, this could

104
00:07:22,000 --> 00:07:25,480
lead to some significant cultural shifts as well.

105
00:07:25,480 --> 00:07:30,760
And the more and more that people invested in managing these food resources, plant food

106
00:07:30,760 --> 00:07:36,480
resources on the landscape, they really started settling down, returning to the same site

107
00:07:36,480 --> 00:07:38,560
or community year after year.

108
00:07:38,560 --> 00:07:45,680
They had invested in clearing the fields, so we really see a shift in the ways in which

109
00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:51,080
people use the landscape as they became more and more engaged with agriculture.

110
00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:56,320
Indigenous people in the Great Lakes area in Eastern North America had a wide variety

111
00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:57,720
of plants in their diet.

112
00:07:57,720 --> 00:08:03,080
This included everything from wild plants to carefully cultivated crops like corn, beans,

113
00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:04,640
squash, and sunflower.

114
00:08:04,720 --> 00:08:09,440
Today, many of the plants that were domesticated in the Americas are a staple of cuisines all

115
00:08:09,440 --> 00:08:10,440
over the world.

116
00:08:10,440 --> 00:08:14,760
Do you know the history of your favorite foods or the history of your culture's cuisine?

117
00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:17,480
See if you can find out the stories behind these treats.

118
00:08:17,480 --> 00:08:21,760
Everything we eat from snacks to celebratory meals has a story to tell.

119
00:08:21,760 --> 00:08:24,760
We'll find some cobs that are preserved.

120
00:08:24,760 --> 00:08:25,760
They're dried out.

121
00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:27,760
That's what they would look like.

122
00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:28,760
I thought these were pine cones.

123
00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:29,760
Those are corn cobs.

124
00:08:29,760 --> 00:08:30,760
Wow.

125
00:08:31,760 --> 00:08:32,760
They're super tiny.

126
00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:33,760
I thought you were going to say poop.