Native American Food

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Today we are going to write about the Native American food.

Did you know that the Native Amercian Tribes hadn’t the same diet? For example, tribes in Alaska had a very different diet from the tribes of Brazil. Some tribes were farmers, staying in one place year-round and farming the land, while others were hunters and gatherers, moving from place to place as they hunted and gathered food for their families. This way of life affected the kind of food they ate.

The most important Native American food crop was Indian corn (also known as maize). Other American Indian crops were beans, squash, pumpkins, sunflowers, chocolate, etc. In this diet they also included their favourite meats like, for example, buffalo, salmon, elk, etc.
Americans, in ancient times, were able to eat any type of animals like monkeys, dogs (not all the tribes did it) or even snakes.

•  The Eskimos and some Indian tribes of the far north relied almost entirely on hunting and fishing to survive. Their main food was fish, especially the salmon of the rivers and the ocean, but they also gathered nuts and berries from the forests.

• The Blackfoot and Sioux tribe formed large groups to work together to drive large animals over a cliff, sometimes setting controlled fires or building fences to cut off their escape.

• The  Chippewa tribe hunted deer, rabbits or elks. To hunt they set snares or traps for them.

•  The Navajo tribe were from the South and they were expert farmers. They used special farming techniques like irrigation, terracing or crop rotation to improve their farms, and they finally obtained enough crops to dry and store for the Winter.

The Native Americans drank herb-flavoured water and broth. For example, the Timicuans brewed a caffeine drink called the Black Drink. This tea was a Southeastern ceremonial drink, and was used by adult males for ritualistic purification. It was also traded to other Native American tribes.

Bibliography:

http://www.native-languages.org/food.htm

http://tribaldirectory.com/information/native-american-food.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilex_vomitoria