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Native Americans fruitarian?

Posted by Hummingbird on July 17, 2011 at 5:45am in Off topic

I just randomly came across this quote by Christopher Columbus in a book about "raw food" from the 70's:

 

"The natives here are very strong and live largely on a tree melon called "the fruit of the angels."

 

Apparently he was talking about papaya.  Cool!

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Replies

  • Jared Leach July 18, 2011 at 11:50am
    mmmm....reality<3
  • Alicia B. Frugivore July 18, 2011 at 11:32am

    We do have native fruits yes, but you are hard pressed to find enough to live on in the Canadian wilderness in particular besides wildberries due to the long, cold, and harsh winters. During my hikes in various areas of my home province I haven't seen much besides wild lettuce/berries. Humans came out of tropical climates, which provided us with all we need, and we encountered new territories that did not offer such abundance.

    • matea > Alicia B. Frugivore July 21, 2011 at 7:37am

      I've read that even Eskimos subsist only on berries when they are in season.

      During that time, they ditch everything else.

       

      Its seems with indigenous cultures, the closer they are to tropical areas, and the longer fruits are in season, determines how long they eat that fruit.

  • Mera/Feather Story July 18, 2011 at 10:06am
    In a book I have about Creek/Seminoles it says that they subsisted on melons, pumpkins and corn, for the most part, for large periods of time, and that they didn't do much hunting. I should find the book.  I also found several stories in other books about Creek and closely related tribes speaking on times before they ate animals and times before they used fire.
    • Alicia B. Frugivore > Mera/Feather Story July 18, 2011 at 11:26am
      Do you happen to mean the Cree?
      • Mera/Feather Story > Alicia B. Frugivore July 18, 2011 at 12:05pm
        No, the Creek of Southeast U.S. in relation to choctaw and cherokee.
  • Alicia B. Frugivore July 17, 2011 at 6:39am

    Not the Native Canadians here - traditionally they foraged for berries and wild herbs to supplement  a diet primarily of fish and animals such as deer, elk, bison (in prarie regions) etc.

     

    I think what he may of been mentioning was that during times where other 'food' options were scarce they ate papaya heavily. But considering papaya doesn't grow in cooler climates I am thinking perhaps this was more common with tribes in South America/Mexico. Did he mention a region?

     

    Source: I'm part Abenaki, worked on a reservation, and took First Nations studies in college.

    • Michael Hobson > Alicia B. Frugivore July 17, 2011 at 7:14am

      Christopher Columbus never made it North of Cuba. He wouldn't have had any idea about natives in your region. His voyages were all in the tropics.

       

      map.jpg

      • Alicia B. Frugivore > Michael Hobson July 17, 2011 at 9:38am
        Thank you! mystery solved LOL. So perhaps a different word other than 'Native Americans' should be used, as it leads the reader to think of North America (despite the fact South America is part of the 'Americas').
        • Hummingbird > Alicia B. Frugivore July 17, 2011 at 1:32pm
          Good point, although the "Americas" includes North and South America.  Maybe just "indigenous" would work!
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