Love coffee, vanilla and dark chocolate? Thank an Indian
Posted on Sun, Nov. 20, 2005
ART COULSON
I have tried to pass along to my young daughters the values and lessons I was given as a boy. Among them is the notion that thanksgiving is a daily event, not reserved to one day in late November. When we in the American Indian community gather for a feast or other public event, we often start with a prayer of thanksgiving, thanking the Creator for our health, for the beauty of the natural world and the bounty he has laid before us.
As my daughters and I stock up and prepare to celebrate the national holiday later this week (yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving with a capital "T," too), I like to point out to the girls the many foods that American Indian people gave to the world. Sure, coffee hardly seems like much of a gift to them (for now). But they certainly appreciate some of the other contributions of native people: chocolate and hot cocoa. Vanilla. Corn and potatoes. Turkey. Cornbread stuffing (OK, that last one was a stretch, but, man, could my mom whip up a mean stuffing).
The contributions of the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere continue to tantalize our palates. Consider:
• Coffee and hot cocoa: Where would Starbucks and Caribou be without them?
• Chocolate and vanilla: America's two favorite flavors. When I read about the Aztec drink that combined cocoa and chile peppers, my taste buds start quivering.
And vanilla was so prized by some indigenous cultures that it was accepted as payment for taxes.
• Corn: One of the most important plants to indigenous people and one of the Three Sisters of the Iroquois, the other two being beans and squash. The Iroquois call the three tsiohekon, or "they sustain us."
In my own Cherokee tradition, we are taught that selu, or corn, was the mother of all the other plants.
• Potatoes: There is evidence that the native peoples of South America cultivated potatoes 7,000 years ago.
• Tomatoes: Imagine pizza without the "love apple."
• Wild rice: Still a staple of the diet and economies of Minnesota's Indian tribes and the official state grain.
• Chewing gum: Originally used as a dental hygiene product, ironically.
As my daughters and I discuss the indigenous foods of the Americas, our conversation often broadens to encompass other Indian innovations, such as:
• Lacrosse, a sport with a particular place in our hearts as the Minnesota Swarm prepares to play its second season at the Xcel Center.
• Parkas: Another invention of particular interest to Minnesotans. Thank the Inuit for this winter wear.
• Our federal system of government and universal women's suffrage. Ben Franklin cited The Great Law of the Iroquois as his inspiration for his earliest writings on a united colonial government.
The Iroquois government, the longest surviving democracy, is divided into three branches, just as our government is today.
But one big piece of the Iroquois Great Law that Franklin overlooked was its granting of political and social power to women — women were the heads of their households and selected the chiefs and other officials of each clan. It took the fledgling United States almost 200 years to give women the vote.
Sometimes, great lessons take time to sink in, I guess.
So as you carve the turkey and dish out the yams on Thursday, give thanks not just to the Creator, but to the indigenous people of this hemisphere who continue to share their bounty with the world.
Coulson is editorial page editor of the Pioneer Press. Contact him at 651-228-5544; 345 Cedar St., St. Paul, MN 55101; or by e-mail at acoulson@pioneerpress.com.
ART COULSON
I have tried to pass along to my young daughters the values and lessons I was given as a boy. Among them is the notion that thanksgiving is a daily event, not reserved to one day in late November. When we in the American Indian community gather for a feast or other public event, we often start with a prayer of thanksgiving, thanking the Creator for our health, for the beauty of the natural world and the bounty he has laid before us.
As my daughters and I stock up and prepare to celebrate the national holiday later this week (yes, we celebrate Thanksgiving with a capital "T," too), I like to point out to the girls the many foods that American Indian people gave to the world. Sure, coffee hardly seems like much of a gift to them (for now). But they certainly appreciate some of the other contributions of native people: chocolate and hot cocoa. Vanilla. Corn and potatoes. Turkey. Cornbread stuffing (OK, that last one was a stretch, but, man, could my mom whip up a mean stuffing).
The contributions of the indigenous people of the Western Hemisphere continue to tantalize our palates. Consider:
• Coffee and hot cocoa: Where would Starbucks and Caribou be without them?
• Chocolate and vanilla: America's two favorite flavors. When I read about the Aztec drink that combined cocoa and chile peppers, my taste buds start quivering.
And vanilla was so prized by some indigenous cultures that it was accepted as payment for taxes.
• Corn: One of the most important plants to indigenous people and one of the Three Sisters of the Iroquois, the other two being beans and squash. The Iroquois call the three tsiohekon, or "they sustain us."
In my own Cherokee tradition, we are taught that selu, or corn, was the mother of all the other plants.
• Potatoes: There is evidence that the native peoples of South America cultivated potatoes 7,000 years ago.
• Tomatoes: Imagine pizza without the "love apple."
• Wild rice: Still a staple of the diet and economies of Minnesota's Indian tribes and the official state grain.
• Chewing gum: Originally used as a dental hygiene product, ironically.
As my daughters and I discuss the indigenous foods of the Americas, our conversation often broadens to encompass other Indian innovations, such as:
• Lacrosse, a sport with a particular place in our hearts as the Minnesota Swarm prepares to play its second season at the Xcel Center.
• Parkas: Another invention of particular interest to Minnesotans. Thank the Inuit for this winter wear.
• Our federal system of government and universal women's suffrage. Ben Franklin cited The Great Law of the Iroquois as his inspiration for his earliest writings on a united colonial government.
The Iroquois government, the longest surviving democracy, is divided into three branches, just as our government is today.
But one big piece of the Iroquois Great Law that Franklin overlooked was its granting of political and social power to women — women were the heads of their households and selected the chiefs and other officials of each clan. It took the fledgling United States almost 200 years to give women the vote.
Sometimes, great lessons take time to sink in, I guess.
So as you carve the turkey and dish out the yams on Thursday, give thanks not just to the Creator, but to the indigenous people of this hemisphere who continue to share their bounty with the world.
Coulson is editorial page editor of the Pioneer Press. Contact him at 651-228-5544; 345 Cedar St., St. Paul, MN 55101; or by e-mail at acoulson@pioneerpress.com.
posted by Colin & Donna-Lee | 9:10 AM
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