Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden: Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians (Borealis Books) [Paperback]

Gilbert Wilson (Author)

Book Description

Series: Borealis Books | Publication Date: October 15, 1987

Includes sustainable gardening methods from seed preparation to harvest, including the ceremonies, songs, and stories required for a bountiful harvest.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Historical photographs and diagrams of farming techniques, along with actual recipes and Hidatsa vegetable varieties make this gem of a book useful for today's gardener." -- Organic Gardening, July/Aug. 1990

Product Details

• Paperback: 129 pages
• Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press (October 15, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0873512197
• ISBN-13: 978-0873512190
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #72,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Re-enactors and gardeners alike will LOVE this book!, July 16, 2000

By 

Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden: Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians (Borealis Books) (Paperback)

This is a Minnesota Historical Society reprint of the anthropological study done by Gilbert Wilson in 1917, originally published as "Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians: An Indian Interpretation." Wilson was among the first of a new school of American anthropologists that felt Indian cultures should speak for themselves, and not be spoken for by "white man's" interpretations. Consequently, the book really is, as the subtitle says, "an Indian interpretation." Most of the text is translated directly from Buffalo Bird Woman's own words, complete with stories, jokes, and personal anecdotes about village life. By the time you are done reading it, you will feel as if you met her personally.

I bought it because I am a Minnesota gardener, so I wanted to see what tips I might pick up from the ways of the indigenous people. The book is rich with useful gardening lore, including diagrams of various tools and structures, along with detailed descriptions of the different kinds of beans, corn, and squash that the Indians grew. Plus, there are native recipes you can try.

I was surprised to learn that, when the Indians dried squash, they didn't use mature fruits with hard skins like we do today, but preferred to cut them when they were 4 days old -- at about 3 1/2 inches diameter. They were more tender that way, easier to slice, and they dried better. The best squashes were marked in the field and allowed to mature for seed.

I also found it interesting that the Indians kept the different colors of corn separate, not like the multi-colored "Indian corn" we buy today for fall decorations. Although Buffalo Bird Woman did not understand the science behind genetics, she and her fellow Hidatsa gardeners did notice that corn varieties will "travel" (her word) from one patch to another if different colors are planted too closely together. So, women with adjoining fields would agree to plant the same varieties side-by-side, to help prevent this "traveling."

The Hidatsa women also understood the principles of good seed-saving techniques, and carefully chose seed from the very best squashes and corn ears in the crop, thereby improving their strains from year to year. Composting, however, was apparently unknown. Leaves and brush were burned, not composted, and they regarded manure as a dirty substance to be removed from the garden. But the Hidatsa did know the value of fallowing, and would allow a less-productive field rest a minimum of two years to renew itself.

Some of the techniques in this book are still quite useful today. I have begun pre-spouting my squash seeds, and planting them in the SIDES of the hills instead of on top, to help prevent the heavy rains from damaging the seedlings. Some of the fencing designs have found their way into my rustic Minnesota garden, too.

This book is also a priceless resource for "living history" re-enactors or "back to the land" homesteaders who might want to know how to build a traditional corn-drying platform, a food-storage cache, a homemade rake, or any of the other tools used successfully for many centuries before the Europeans came here. Simply a delightful book!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars How to grow corn -- Indian style, July 19, 2007

By 

Smallchief - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden: Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians (Borealis Books) (Paperback)

This is a unique and irreplaceable book. In the early 20th century, the author interviewed Buffalo Bird, an old Hidasta Indian woman about Indian farming methods in the mid 19th century. The result is a primer on how the Indians grew corn and other crops on the Great Plains. Interspaced with the explanation of agricultural techniques are charming stories, songs, recipes, and ancedotes told by Buffalo Bird. She also describes how the Indians preserved their crop.

The Hidasta lived in North Dakota and this book is a primer on how to garden in the State without recourse to chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or motor powered equipment. The Hidasta grew five crops: corn, beans, squash, sunflower seeds, and tobacco. Their methods of cultivation, storage, and usage of each crop is described, usually with enough detail to be copied by the modern low-impact sustainable agriculturalist. A large number of illustrations and photographs supplement the text and show how the Indians built fences, dug storage pits, dried squash, and laid out their fields.

A good introductory essay introduces the Hidasta, Bird Woman, and the author to the reader. The whole book is only about 150 pages, but there's a wealth of cultural and agricultural information here presented in a charming and easy-to-digest format.

Smallchief

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hidatsa Gardening Techniques, October 14, 2003

By 

J. Ausfahl "Information Addict" (Peoria, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden: Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians (Borealis Books) (Paperback)

A "must have" for anyone who is interested in doing a garden using authentic Native American practices, as used in the tribes in the Missouri Valley area. Details on laying out the garden, maintaining it, food storage, construction of tools, etc. are all included with sufficient clarity for reproduction.