Native American Foods: Technology and Food Sources: Food Patterns

Although the tribes shared basic recipe genres, their foods varied somewhat from region to region. What the various peoples had in common was the ability to use the natural environment as a source of enjoyable and nutritious foods. The more tribes exploited the wild food of the natural world, the healthier they were; nomads fared better than agriculturists. Tribal differences had most to do with nomadic as opposed to agricultural orientation and the available foodstuffs. For example, the Menominee viewed fresh raspberries as less important than dried ones, probably as a result of their agricultural and sedentary lifestyle that depended on stored wintertime resources. The nomadic, hunting Cheyenne, who customarily ate the berries fresh and out of hand, did not have the time, place, or harvest for preservation and storage and were likely to consume such food as they moved.