WEBVTT 00:00.000 --> 00:25.440 Have you ever enjoyed a squash? 00:25.440 --> 00:32.480 Summer corn, some flower seeds, if so, if so, you've eaten foods related to plants 00:32.480 --> 00:35.720 that were part of native diets in this area for centuries. 00:35.720 --> 00:41.160 Wisconsin today is filled with farmland, and it's not just dairy farms, though I do love 00:41.160 --> 00:42.560 a good cheese. 00:42.560 --> 00:47.240 Everything from corn to cherries to soybeans and more is grown here, but this region's 00:47.240 --> 00:51.440 agricultural history is way older than most people realize. 00:51.440 --> 00:55.920 Modern thousands of years ago, indigenous farmers in this region were growing and using 00:55.920 --> 01:02.720 a wide variety of plants. 01:02.720 --> 01:09.040 People in the past cultivated plant foods, and they also domesticated certain plants 01:09.040 --> 01:15.560 that they grew in garden, but overall it reflects the management of food resources by indigenous 01:15.560 --> 01:16.560 people. 01:16.560 --> 01:21.720 You know, we were placed here, we saved by the creator, and we were told by the creator 01:21.720 --> 01:26.180 that everything that we needed to live a good life is already here. 01:26.180 --> 01:30.200 We just had to observe everything and give it a name. 01:30.200 --> 01:38.320 Before Europeans came to this continent, we've been doing things like riceing. 01:38.320 --> 01:39.960 We still do that today. 01:39.960 --> 01:43.200 We still do it exactly the same way. 01:43.200 --> 01:47.600 What's the story behind native agriculture around the Great Lakes and Eastern North America? 01:47.600 --> 01:53.320 This history goes back about 5,000 years when indigenous people in the area began cultivating 01:53.320 --> 01:56.400 and domesticating seed-bearing plants. 01:56.400 --> 02:00.880 So what is the difference between cultivation and domestication? 02:00.880 --> 02:07.440 So cultivation is intentionally planting seeds in the ground in order to grow crops in particular 02:07.440 --> 02:08.440 areas. 02:08.440 --> 02:15.440 Domesticates are when the plant has gone through genetic changes that signal it is a 02:15.440 --> 02:16.440 domesticate. 02:16.440 --> 02:20.880 So domesticated plants typically have a larger seed than wild plants. 02:20.880 --> 02:27.080 And then domesticated seeds typically have a thinner seed coat, an outer seed coat, compared 02:27.080 --> 02:28.280 to wild. 02:28.280 --> 02:35.520 So this is a wild sunflower seed, and this, just like you know, are in the regular, now 02:35.520 --> 02:37.200 sunflower seeds today. 02:37.200 --> 02:41.600 So as we grow different foods, we want to eat more, right? 02:41.600 --> 02:44.560 We want to grow less so that we can eat more. 02:44.560 --> 02:49.960 So we want the plants to get bigger, so we'll grow the crops to get bigger and bigger. 02:49.960 --> 02:53.440 That's why we usually see domesticates as bigger plants. 02:53.440 --> 02:59.680 People probably were actively selecting and choosing the plants that had the bigger seeds 02:59.680 --> 03:04.680 or produced more seeds, and then setting those aside to plant the following year. 03:04.680 --> 03:12.960 That sort of interaction with the plants over many, many years results in domestication. 03:12.960 --> 03:17.920 In Eastern North America, plant domestication began during what's known as the archaic period 03:17.920 --> 03:19.440 in native history. 03:19.440 --> 03:24.600 About 6,000 years ago, climate and environmental changes created a landscape that was ideal 03:24.600 --> 03:26.500 for cultivating plants. 03:26.500 --> 03:30.360 This included fertile, stable river valleys with good soil. 03:30.360 --> 03:36.440 From about 5,000 to 3,700 years ago, there were at least four plant species that were 03:36.440 --> 03:40.160 domesticated by indigenous peoples in Eastern North America. 03:40.160 --> 03:45.200 The first seed-bearing plants to be domesticated in this region were squash, or gourds. 03:45.200 --> 03:49.000 This was followed by sunflower, marsh elder, and quinoa podium. 03:49.000 --> 03:53.800 These plants are a part of what's known as the Eastern Agricultural Complex. 03:53.800 --> 03:58.920 Three of these plants, squash, marsh elder, and quinoa podium grow really well in soil 03:58.920 --> 04:02.000 beds that are disturbed by annual flooding in certain areas. 04:02.000 --> 04:04.120 They also produce a lot of seeds. 04:04.120 --> 04:08.720 For people cultivating them, this meant the potential for a big return without needing 04:08.720 --> 04:09.720 a lot of work. 04:09.720 --> 04:14.160 But these resources also needed careful tending and smart harvesting practices. 04:14.160 --> 04:18.320 Today, these are still important aspects of native agriculture. 04:18.320 --> 04:23.840 And I remember very picking with my grandmother, and she said, go fill up your bucket over 04:23.840 --> 04:24.840 here. 04:24.840 --> 04:26.240 But don't take them all. 04:26.240 --> 04:33.120 You always leave some behind, because we never take more than what we need. 04:33.120 --> 04:41.240 We should always leave something behind, which helps it recede, which helps it for the next 04:41.240 --> 04:42.240 year. 04:42.240 --> 04:47.400 What are some foods that are native to this region of Wisconsin, or to Wisconsin as a 04:47.400 --> 04:48.400 whole? 04:48.400 --> 04:49.400 Wild rice. 04:49.400 --> 04:50.400 Yes. 04:51.040 --> 04:56.520 And we know that wild rice, from an archaeological perspective, was being cultivated at least 04:56.520 --> 05:00.880 2,000 years ago, but probably even longer than that. 05:00.880 --> 05:06.960 This is wild rice, but we actually see it burned in the record. 05:06.960 --> 05:10.480 So this is some burned wild rice versus the real. 05:10.480 --> 05:14.160 Plant cultivation and domestication wasn't just happening in this region. 05:14.160 --> 05:16.800 It was taken place all across the Americas. 05:16.800 --> 05:20.200 And as different groups traded with each other and traveled, it bit the spread of certain 05:20.200 --> 05:21.960 plants to new regions. 05:21.960 --> 05:26.640 This is what happened with corn and beans, which were domesticated by indigenous peoples 05:26.640 --> 05:28.120 in Mesoamerica. 05:28.120 --> 05:33.400 Corn, or maize, arrived in this area in about 200 BC during what's known as the Woodland 05:33.400 --> 05:34.400 Period. 05:34.400 --> 05:39.000 Within a few hundred years, it became a very important crop for some native cultures. 05:39.000 --> 05:44.520 This included oniota groups, who also incorporated beans into their agricultural practice. 05:44.520 --> 05:48.000 Another food resource that was especially widespread were nuts. 05:48.000 --> 05:52.000 There's evidence from across North America that people were using nuts like walnuts, 05:52.000 --> 05:54.360 hickory, acorn, and hazelnuts. 05:54.360 --> 05:58.480 These could be eaten as is, or used to make oils for cooking. 05:58.480 --> 06:04.920 And there is some evidence that indigenous peoples were managing the forests in a way 06:04.920 --> 06:10.800 that ensured that these nut-bearing trees would grow and grow close to the sites where 06:10.800 --> 06:11.800 they were living. 06:11.800 --> 06:15.240 But trees produce more than just nuts and fruit. 06:15.240 --> 06:19.640 Some of them can also make sap that can be turned into delicious maple syrup. 06:19.640 --> 06:22.280 This has been done by indigenous groups for centuries. 06:22.280 --> 06:26.520 The practice of knowing when to tap a tree for its sap shows how attentive native peoples 06:26.520 --> 06:27.960 were to their environment. 06:27.960 --> 06:31.880 This is still true for many people preserving these traditions today. 06:31.880 --> 06:38.520 There is one particular thing that happens, and it's when the snow is still on the ground, 06:38.520 --> 06:43.640 when you put your foot through the snow, and it's kind of powdery underneath it, but it's 06:43.640 --> 06:45.200 crusty on the top. 06:45.200 --> 06:48.880 And that's when the waters begin to flow again. 06:48.880 --> 06:55.920 And so we watch that, and the water that flows in the trees is the first to start flowing. 06:55.920 --> 07:02.960 It tells you that it's time to start tapping the trees to make maple syrup, maple sugar. 07:02.960 --> 07:08.080 It's important to note that farming and plant practices were not universal across this area. 07:08.080 --> 07:12.160 Different cultural groups use a wide variety of food resources and approaches. 07:12.160 --> 07:16.960 Some relied more heavily on crops and agriculture, while others chose to prioritize hunting 07:16.960 --> 07:17.960 and gathering. 07:17.960 --> 07:22.000 For those groups who focused on increasing cultivation of the land and plants, this could 07:22.000 --> 07:25.480 lead to some significant cultural shifts as well. 07:25.480 --> 07:30.760 And the more and more that people invested in managing these food resources, plant food 07:30.760 --> 07:36.480 resources on the landscape, they really started settling down, returning to the same site 07:36.480 --> 07:38.560 or community year after year. 07:38.560 --> 07:45.680 They had invested in clearing the fields, so we really see a shift in the ways in which 07:45.680 --> 07:51.080 people use the landscape as they became more and more engaged with agriculture. 07:51.080 --> 07:56.320 Indigenous people in the Great Lakes area in Eastern North America had a wide variety 07:56.320 --> 07:57.720 of plants in their diet. 07:57.720 --> 08:03.080 This included everything from wild plants to carefully cultivated crops like corn, beans, 08:03.080 --> 08:04.640 squash, and sunflower. 08:04.720 --> 08:09.440 Today, many of the plants that were domesticated in the Americas are a staple of cuisines all 08:09.440 --> 08:10.440 over the world. 08:10.440 --> 08:14.760 Do you know the history of your favorite foods or the history of your culture's cuisine? 08:14.760 --> 08:17.480 See if you can find out the stories behind these treats. 08:17.480 --> 08:21.760 Everything we eat from snacks to celebratory meals has a story to tell. 08:21.760 --> 08:24.760 We'll find some cobs that are preserved. 08:24.760 --> 08:25.760 They're dried out. 08:25.760 --> 08:27.760 That's what they would look like. 08:27.760 --> 08:28.760 I thought these were pine cones. 08:28.760 --> 08:29.760 Those are corn cobs. 08:29.760 --> 08:30.760 Wow. 08:31.760 --> 08:32.760 They're super tiny. 08:32.760 --> 08:33.760 I thought you were going to say poop.