Poems and Thoughts    by Frank Maurer

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Indigenous American Agriculture. Dear Mary. I couldn't wait for your information, so perhaps this might be useful to enhance your exhibit. The religious mounds, etc, would be another story. (I worked on this for about 10 hours!) Contributions of Native Americans and the indigenous origins of many practices used today in the regenerative agricultural movement. Original indigenous populations protected local ecosystems, preserving biodiversity, using good land management and farming methods. The landscape to which the Europeans arrived was not 'untouched land'-- the 'pristine myth'--but rather that the land had been actively shaped. Indigenous Americans had advanced the practices, defining sustainable agricultural and land stewardship. INTERCROPPING AND POLYCULTURES. INTERCROPPING has been practiced by many early groups, including the Iroquois. The most well known is the 'Three Sisters'. The corn stalks provide a trellis for the beans, which add nitrogen to the soil. Additionally, the squash vines are a 'living mulch', improving soil health, maintaining moisture, and thus also preventing the growth of weeds. INTERCROPPING, thus relies on crops that are complementary and compete minimally for resources. This improves crop productivity and yield stability over time, increasing soil health. Other benefits are pest management, weed reduction, insect and disease control. Temporary cover crops (eg. legumes) also improve soil health, sequester carbon and aid in biodiversity. Remember how the Pilgrims were shown the fertilizing method of planting a dead fish in each crop mound. POLYCULTURES imitate nature by planting various species in the same area, with similar benefits of intercropping. Polycultures demonstrate greater use of nutrients, light, and water than monocultures. WATER MANAGEMENT. Today's water management historically returns to indigenous practices. Planting-mounds used by indigenous people in more humid climates drained excess moisture. Mounds or ridged-furrows are used the same way today. Peoples in arid climates (the Hohokam, Arizona tribe) built canals for their irrigation to farm. The Pueblo people used small dams to productively redirect water, thus preventing erosion. These methods are used today and with modern technology, drip irrigation prevents water loss and erosion. AGROFORESTRY. Early peoples practiced agroforestry, by managing trees,crops and wild, then domesticated animals together for mutual benefit. SILVICULTURE or tree management (remember Pennsylvania means 'Penn's Woods'), including growth and composition to enhance wildlife and better hunting, had been traditionally practiced for millenia. SILVOPASTURE was used to graze animals (wild, then domestic) among trees. Better forest health, increased soil carbon levels, shade for animals (ever more important with increasing heat due to the Climate Crisis) and greater wildlife habitat are enhanced by using both silviculture and silvopasture methods. Of course controlled fires were used by early peoples for forest management. With the ENVIRONMENTAL SUCCESSION process, nutrients were shifted from the soil to an organic plant form. The Midwestern and Southwestern grasslands were burned in selectively chosen forest areas to promote regeneration of forests which still exist today in the Midwest and Texas Hill Country. The ash from these forest fires were used to fertilize crops by collecting it and transferring it to crop areas. Of course, the regenerating grasses, shrubs, and trees, having increased tender leaf growth, attracted wildlife for better hunting. The clearing of much brush and undergrowth allowed for easier hunting with bows and spears. As a byproduct of these fires, grasshoppers and locusts were 'fried' for delicious meals (entomophagy, the eating of insects, which as our protein sources become limited, will be used by future Moderns, once again). Today we use prescribed, controlled burns to reduce fire hazard, clearing areas near cities and towns. The native people also did this around their villages and encampments for exact the same reason! PERMACULTURE. Permaculture, coined by Bill Mollison, was a practice to farm, using all the surrounding environmental features to maximum benefit; working with the natural forces, as opposed to against. The indigenous people planted legumes, plants which 'fixed' nitrogen and added other vital nutrients to the soil. This practice by Moderns is used to reduce dependence on fertilizers and to improve soil health. SEE: 1491 and 1492 by Charles C. Mann. Permaculture books by Bill Mollison. Frank Maurer 15 April 2024 0950 Hours.