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

I was searching for a book on line when I came across this book. The book is a reprint of a book published in 1918 by Gilbert L. Wilson. Wilson was pursuing a doctorate in anthropological studies at the University of Minnesota and decided that for his thesis he would study the agricultural practices of the Mandan-Hidatsa Native American culture. Wilson had already been a missionary among the tribes and had collected historical artifacts for the American Museum of Natural History.Wilson chose for his study to interview a Hidatsa woman, Maxi’diwiac or in English, Buffalo Bird Woman, who was born about 1839, and who had always and still was at 75, been a gardener/farmer for her family. Her son was Wilson’s interpreter and also contributed some drawings to illustrate points of his mother’s conversation. The interview was conducted over several years actually. When Wilson’s book was first published it was called Agriculture of the Hidatsa Indians, An Indian Interpretation.Wilson faithfully recorded Buffalo Bird Woman’s recollections, using her words as well as they could be interpreted and for an older book it is easy to read and quite fascinating. It is written in the story telling mode that many Native Americans find easy to use, but it is all factual information. Buffalo Bird Woman is careful to remind readers that this is how her family and she herself did things and sometimes mentions how other families differed from hers.The Hidatsa tribe Buffalo Bird Woman belonged to lived at the headwaters of the Missouri river in the Minnesota-North Dakota area. The Hidatsa tribe’s agricultural practices were probably pretty typical of Northeastern Native Americans. And in her early adulthood her tribe had little influence from white settlers.When Wilson interviewed her in her 70’s Buffalo Bird Woman was still mentally sharp and physically active. Her thoughts were well organized and she was very through in giving information. She talks about each of the five crops they typically grew, corn, squash, beans, sunflowers and tobacco in great detail from preparing the ground, to how they selected good seed, to cultural practices to harvesting and even how they cooked the crops.I found the agricultural knowledge the native people had to be amazing and I loved the humor and little insights into tribal relations that she included in her story. Besides gardening she told how certain tools were made- such as how they made baskets from the scrotum of a buffalo. The lifestyle was very rigorous for women, who did most of the gardening, and it was sobering how much time and effort went into growing and storing food in earlier times. However Buffalo Bird Woman never complains about the work and seemed to enjoy gardening.I was interested in the “watchers stages” that were a part of every corn plot. When land was cleared a tree was left near the center of the field and a platform was erected 4-5 feet off the ground on the shady side of it. When the corn was starting to ripen two women, usually younger girls, would sit on the platform to guard the corn from crows, horses and young boys. They sat there all day until the crop was harvested. As they sat there they sang to the corn frequently because it was thought that the corn grew better if it was sung to. The girls often made up songs teasing young men who hung around trying to court the “watchers”. Buffalo Bird Woman includes some of the songs she remembers.That Native Americans had separate varieties of corn which they knew to grow in separate plots so they didn’t mix and that they knew about allowing fields to rest and how to save the best of the crop for seed was interesting. So was the fact that they fenced their garden areas. I also found it fascinating that they didn’t allow animal manure in their gardens. Horses were allowed to graze in the corn fields after the ears were harvested but any manure they left was picked up and thrown out of the garden. If you are interested in farming history or origins of American crops, or you enjoy reading about Native American customs this book will give you much enjoyment. It includes some photos from the early 1900’s and drawings. I bought mine as an e-edition on Amazon ($2.99) but I understand a hard copy is available. It’s pretty inexpensive.

Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden is a unique and amazing book ... the first copy I ever had was given as a gift ... then someone borrowed it and I never got it back ... later when I was talking with some friends, I mentioned how much I missed my copy of the book ... well, the following holiday season, I received a package which said, "Do Not Open Until December 25" ... BAM! it was a copy of Buffalo Bird Woman's Garden ... up until I made it's recent purchase here on Amazon, I had not paid for either copy I owned ... however, this latest copy I got is intended as a gift for someone who looks at gardening as a Spiritual undertaking and experience and he particularly expressed interest in The Three Sisters which is addressed in this book. I think some of the things which intrigue me the most about this book are that it is a real-life account along with the fact that the process the Hidatsa women used in gardening and storage directly affected the tribes survival; so, they had better know what they were doing.

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

Read it in one sitting - 5 stars! Will be referring to / re-reading it over & over!

I love this book and have read it many times!! it tells how the Indians planted their crops, why they did it a certain way and what they expected to grow. Then it tells you how they harvested them, how they cooked them and why and also other veg. were cooked them with. I have given it as gifts to history teachers and they love it. I would buy it even if it was much more money.

book delivered quickly, and was as advertized. Well illustrated highly detailed look at 19th century plains Native American gardening methods, cooking techniques, way of life. A unique perspective and well worth reading if you are interested in the life of the Plains people.

Interesting book about gardening and life in an Indian community at the turn of the century. In my reading, after the community had been "modernized" in a lot of ways by US government programs, gardening provided an outlet for the community to preserve some of it's traditions and stay connected to the land and it's rhythms.In addition, there is good practical advice if you have a bit of land and want to do some pesticide-free gardening. You'd need at least a few good acres to really implement the whole approach - which involves growing sunflowers, corn, squash, and beans alongside each other. But still a good amount of information that should be useful even if you're working with a smaller backyard plot. Also has some recipes!

Great book with lots of history and a weary of information for those wanting to try something different in their garden