Native American Foods: Technology and Food Sources: The East

The vast East was chiefly characterized by a rich seasonal mixture of agriculture, hunting of large and small game, and foraging in woodlands and on the seacoasts, and therefore was favored with considerable variety. Much of the East was dominated by the Iroquois, who used the “three sisters” agriculture of corn, beans, and pumpkin as well as sunflowers and was a relatively settled culture. For example, various cornmeal preparations were cooked into cornbread, dumplings, soup, and porridge, which were enriched with beans, pumpkin, and wild fruit and nuts and then combined with large and small game in stew and soup. Southern tribes varied mainly in their addition of the few fruits, including pawpaw and persimmon, that grew in gentler climates. The tribes of coastal areas from Maine and Narragansett Bay to Chesapeake Bay originally were hunters and gatherers but developed numerous fish dishes, clambakes, and beach plum (Prunus maritima) flavoring in conjunction with introduced agriculture. The Wampanoags pride themselves on wheat-flour bannock. Corn soups have been modernized into chowders made with bacon, onions, green peppers, potatoes, butter, and milk. Maple syrup with cornmeal pancakes is a representative dish of the eastern peoples.