To the uninitiated, the Northern Plains may appear flat, barren, treeless, and stark, echoing its nineteenth-century characterization as the Great American Desert. Yet through the eyes of anthropologist and ethnobotanist C. Thomas Shay, the plains come alive, pulsing with life and energy, blanketed with plant life that has supported human occupation for thousands of years. In a book that is part memoir, part travelogue, part botanical and archeological handbook, Shay casts an interpretive eye over the interactions of plants and peoples before the coming of Europeans. Nevertheless, he acknowledges that Native peoples today still incorporate plants in a myriad of ceremonial and practical ways.
The first few chapters focus on setting the stage, exploring the geological and geographic character of the Northern Plains. Chapter 1, for instance, reviews the geological and climatological forces that "sculpted" the Northern Plains, creating its varied topography, from dead-end moraines to eskers to meltwater lakes. Subsequent melting with the end of the ice age opened the land up to an influx of plants and animals, quickly occupying new niches of opportunity. Glacial debris added to by countless generations of plant decay resulted in a layer of soil known for its fertility and abundance. In the first of many fascinating asides, Shay explains how scientists remove soil core samples that can be analyzed for ancient pollen traces that reveal much about how plants populated the region. Chapter 2 focuses on the meteorological forces at work over the millennia. Storms, floods, fires, and cold further shaped the land. Native peoples perforce became keen observers of the weather and its effects on the plants and animals crucial to their subsistence needs. Natural forces contributed to the development of a religious consciousness as well, as evidenced by the thunderbird motif and its great time depth on the plains. Other ethnographic and historical examples illustrate further effects of weather on subsistence, survival, and even play. Rounding out the opening section, chapter 3 takes the reader on a virtual tour of the Northern Plains, to follow in the footsteps of ancient peoples, as Shay puts it. Here he lays out an automobile itinerary that starts in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, and ends in Iowa, winding its way through mixed-grass prairie to river flatlands to tall grass prairie and the remnants of forests.
Later chapters shift the focus to human use of the landscape over the nearly 12,000-year span of occupation of the Northern Plains. Chapter 4 compares the land to an archive, something that can be read and interpreted. Using the Souris River Valley as an example, Shay discusses how fieldwork and laboratory analysis contribute to an understanding of plant use among ancient hunter/gatherer societies. Though short, the chapter is a fascinating introduction to analytic techniques and technological innovations. Chapter 5 focuses on the transition to domestication of plant resources leading to cultivation. Here, Shay distills the 12,000-year history of the plains into "twelve months," incorporating archaeological insights to trace changing human interactions with plant species. Particularly important plants are highlighted, including squashes, goosefoot, sunflowers, and ultimately maize and beans, the more familiar staples of early peoples. The seasonal round occupies much of the next chapter, describing the bounty provided by the plains. Of over fifteen-hundred species of wild plants growing in the Northern Plains, Native people utilized over four hundred of them. Tapping trees for sugar, gathering various seeds and fruits, and harvesting wild rice constitute but a small sample of gathering activities. Described also is the cycle of planting and harvest, as well as the techniques of storing and cooking.
Chapters 7 and 8 go beyond the subsistence use of plants to discuss how Native peoples applied plants in other ways. The various chemical properties of plants make them useful in treating and healing human ailments, and over the generations Native peoples uncovered and applied these properties. They also incorporated plants into their spiritual lives, as seen in smudging or sweat lodge rituals and, of course, smoking sacred tobacco. The next chapter discusses the many uses for wood, various species utilized for homes, tools, and textiles, as well as the many types of plants that furnished dyes. Experimental archaeological projects conducted by Shay's students demonstrate the complexity that goes into creating and utilizing dyes. Closing his survey with an epilogue, Shay marvels at the myriad ways Native peoples created and still maintain sustainable cultures on the Northern Plains. As climate change unleashes new challenges, Native peoples are at the leading edge of finding new solutions.
For the general reader, there is much to commend this book, particularly its easily understandable and fascinating descriptions and explanations of scientific techniques and tools that decipher the long botanical history of the plains. The book is also a solid introduction to the geological formation of the Northern Plains. Indeed, portions of it can be used to plan one's own exploratory tours of the resulting plains’ topography and plant life. For the folklorist or folklife scholar, the book probably works best as a useful reference guide. For example, consulting the section on Artemisia or wild sage, represented in the medicinal and spiritual pharmacopeia of many Native communities, such as the Lakotas or the Hidatsas. Or learning why stinging nettles made particularly strong and sturdy baskets (archeological examples go back at least five-hundred years; historically Anishinaabe women developed specific techniques to prepare the fibers for basket work). In the end, the book reflects Shay's life work, applying scientific principles, ethnographic insights, and a sense of awe and wonder at human ingenuity in interpreting a region and a people under prairie skies.
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[Review length: 925 words • Review posted on March 23, 2023]