Anderson, Tending the Wild

557 Pages·2005·3.34 MB·English

by  Mac 9

Tending the Wild
The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous contribution to
this book provided by the David B.Gold Foundation and the General
Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Associates.
M. KAT ANDERSON
Tending the Wild
Native American Knowledge
and the Management of
California’s Natural Resources
University of California Press
BERKELEY LOS ANGELES LONDON
A portion of the royalties go to Native Americans
to support the rekindling of their land management
practices in certain natural areas of California.
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles,California
University of California Press,Ltd.
London,England
© 2005 M.Kat Anderson
Parts of chapter 7 appeared in a different form in “The Fire,Pruning,
and Coppice Management of Temperate Ecosystems for Basketry
Material by California Indian Tribes,” published in HumanEcology27
(1999):79–113,reprinted with kind permission of Springer Science and
Business Media.Parts of chapter 10 appeared in a different form in “At
Home in the Wilderness,” published in News from Native California6
(1992):19–21,used with permission from Heyday Books and Heyday
Institute.Parts of chapter 11 appeared in the article “California’s
Endangered Peoples and Endangered Ecosystems,” published in
American Indian Culture and Research Journal21 (1997):7–31,
reprinted through permission of the American Indian Studies Center,
UCLA © Regents of the University of California.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Anderson,Kat,1955–.
Tending the wild:Native American knowledge and the manage-
ment of California’s natural resources / M.Kat Anderson.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0–520–23856–7 (cloth :alk.paper)
1. Indians of North America—Agriculture—California.
2. Indians of North America—California—History. 3. Human
ecology—California. 4. Nature—Effect of human beings on—
California—History. I. Title.
e78.c15a676 2005
333.7'089'970794—dc22 2004017995
Manufactured in the United States of America
12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
This book is printed on Natures Book,which contains 50% post-
consumer waste and meets the minimum requirements ofansi/
nisoz 39.48–1992 (r1997) (Permanence of Paper).
To my parents,Jan and Andy,and to the original
teachers—the native plants,animals,and ancestors
of California

Plants are thought to be alive,the
juice is their blood,and they grow.
The same is true of trees.All things
die,therefore all things have life.
Because all things have life,gifts
have to be given to all things.
WILLIAM RALGANAL BENSON, Pomo,
in E.M.Loeb,Pomo Folkways

Contents
List of Illustrations xi
List of Tables xiv
Preface xv
Note on Languages,Territories,and Names
of California Indian Tribes xxvii
Introduction 1
PART I. CALIFORNIA AT CONTACT
1 Wildlife,Plants,and People 13
2 Gathering,Hunting,and Fishing 41
3 The Collision of Worlds 62
PART II. INDIGENOUS LAND MANAGEMENT
AND ITS ECOLOGICAL BASIS
4 Methods of Caring for the Land 125
5 Landscapes of Stewardship 155
6 Basketry:Cultivating Forbs,Sedges,Grasses,and Tules 187
7 From Arrows to Weirs:Cultivating Shrubs and Trees 209
8 California’s Cornucopia:A Calculated Abundance 240
9 Plant Foods Aboveground:Seeds,Grains,Leaves,
and Fruits 255
10 Plant Foods Belowground:Bulbs,Corms,Rhizomes,
Taproots,and Tubers 291