Jaren Johnson

Professor Nathan Cole

English 2810; Research Project
03APR14
Returning to Their Roots An Insight into Native American Diets
One day a Navajo friend and I were in a laughing mood - I asked him if he knew any
good jokes. He chuckled, and said that most of the Indian jokes that he knew were about
obesity. Suddenly, instead of laughing, I felt sadness and compassion; I realized that the jokes
masked an underlying and terminal reality amongst American Indians today.
This modern-day scourge, of obesity and life-threatening weight-related diseases, against
Native Americans is already well-established. The objective of this particular work is intended to
focus on existing dietary beliefs that claim to represent native origins, and to present traditional
and positive concepts that may assist in restoring health and vitality to The People. What can be
done to restore health and vitality to a people whose ancestors never had to worry about these
modern and deadly traits? The answer, I believe, is in using the obvious to state the not-so-
obvious - it is imperative that Native Americans return to their roots.
If oral histories are still intact, and they are able to provide dietary information pre-
Columbus, then the obvious place for American Indians to seek dietary advice is from the
wisdom and knowledge of their respective tribes and elders. Clearly there is no better
information to rely on than to go to the purest waters of wisdom. Although, if this information is
fragmented or lost, it may require tribes and many people collaborating in order to restore as
much knowledge as possible. Fortunately, some good work is being done in this area.
There are many entities that are promoting traditional living initiatives from the
government, to universities, to grassroots efforts by American Indians. Extensive databases are
being developed in order to catalog native and ancient seed varieties of important foods. Native
Americans that are participating in these efforts are experiencing healthy weight loss, better
overall health, and a healthy reconnect to their ancestors and traditional ways.
However, there are also many experts that would promote their ideas on native peoples
believing that they know how aboriginal peoples really lived. A major challenge for people of
any background is wading through the dietary recommendations that exist in the world today.
Diet and nutrition are some of the most perplexing studies that a person can engage in. In some
cases, various movements or institutions will fund studies as a means of self-promotion. These
predetermined preferences allow people to find exactly what they are looking for even if it
means disregarding other information. American Indians will likely have to be committed to the
wisdom of the ancient ones, and ignore most of the modern experts.
The famous anthropologist couple, Louis and Mary Leakey, discovered a human skull
that had enormous teeth and a powerful jaw. It was proclaimed that such large teeth and jaw
bone could only be used for one thing crushing the shells of nuts. And so, the ancient remains
were dubbed as Nutcracker Man. This discovery led to a new craze, inspiring people to eat
nuts like never before. Decades later, testing was done on Nutcrackers teeth which revealed
that he actually ate grass and lived on the plains. These experts must not have ever met a cow.
Paleo diets are the rage these days; proponents are convinced that ancient people were
super humans that devoured meat, and supplemented with nuts and greens. Vegetarians argue
that human hands and fingers were evolved to pluck fruit, and that digestive juices in the mouth
are only alkaline (ideal for digesting carbs) and not acidic (ideal for digesting proteins), and that
it is not intuitive to kill animals, or to crawl on all fours through manure and latch on to cows for
milk. Each group is convinced that they represent how humans were meant to eat. People that
promote paleo diets are often left with severe adrenal fatigue, hypothyroid, low metabolism, an
emaciated appearance, and scurvy. Ironically, vegetarians often are left in the same conditions.
That doesnt sound like the natives that Columbus and the Spaniards encountered.
The stereotype of American Indians is that they traditionally hunted beasts and feasted
upon their flesh, and supplemented by gathering whatever else they could find to eat - a good
paleo diet. The Weston A. Price Foundation would suggest that this is the primary way that
Indians should consider eating lots of wild meat that is loaded with animal fat.
It is nearly impossible to know how many native people lived in North American pre-
Columbus. George Caitlins estimates, which were based upon oral histories, suggest that there
were at least fourteen million native people. This is an intriguing idea, because it is very difficult
to sustain fourteen million people on hunting and gathering. There are nearly three million
people in the state of Utah, and only thirty-nine percent of the population hunts/fishes over a
million people. Significant wildlife management efforts are needed to support that many hunters
and fishers, and, even with a mere thirty-nine percent of the population hunting and fishing, it
still feels like you are elbow to elbow with other people. The idea that native peoples lived
exclusively as hunter gatherers does not seem very likely
Rita Law, Ph.D. (Choctaw) believes that the hunter/gatherer/paleo stereotype is an
example of the disruptive impact created by European encroachment. Indians were quickly
removed from their traditional lands which required them to rely more heavily upon wild
animals. European guns helped significantly in hunting and living off of wild game. According
to Dr. Law, the traditional way for native people to eat was through masterful cultivation of the
land. George Caitlin marveled over the extensive network of vines and heavy-laden fruit trees of
the Choctaw people. Dr. Law reminds us that half of the foods grown in the world today are
native to the Americas. It is ironic to imagine that, pre-Columbus, natives only devoured animal
flesh, and yet some of the worlds most important, life-saving produce comes from the Americas.
The list of foods and herbs is extensive, but to name a few: corn, potatoes, squashes, tomatoes,
peppers, chocolate, peanuts, vanilla. Native American foods have changed the world.
So, what does this mean to modern-day Indians? It means that the oral histories and
physical evidence (native foods that changed the world) are true keys to health. To explain this it
is helpful to evaluate the expression, If you dont feed your brain, your brain will eat your
body. In other words what happens when the human body starves? The brain only represents a
small portion of our total body weight, but it represents fifteen percent of energy production in
the body. The brain demands a lot of fuel, and if it doesnt get it then it goes to work
cannibalizing the body in search of fuel.
The brain first taps into expendable stores such as fat. Once fat stores are gone, the
body begins to tap into protein stores, until eventually the body dies. This gives us very
important insights into what sources the body recognizes as fuel. The fuel that the brain so
desperately craves, and is willing to cannibalize the body for, is glucose. If the brains fuel
requirement is satisfied, then the body can direct the rest of the fuel intake into maintaining
muscles, bones, and tissue. We learn from the process of starvation that the body recognizes
three primary sources as fuel sugar, fat, and protein.
We can see from many cultures throughout the world that roots, tubers, and grains are all
staple foods. Squash, potatoes, corn, beans, honey, natural syrups, and fruits are loaded with
carbs (easily converted to glucose), are extremely nutritious, contain some fat, and some even
have complete amino acid profiles (essential for protein synthesis in the body). With these foods
alone, The People of the Americas could have survived in great health. However, they also
domesticated animals such as turkeys and hunted and fished as desired. Native Americans
were able to easily meet daily fuel, calorie, and nutrition requirements from traditional foods.
This means that if the fuel demands are met - carbohydrates, fat, and protein - by utilizing
traditional foods, Native Americans can enjoy great health whether they live in the city, on the
reservation, or in the country. For those who do not have a lot of money to feed a family,
potatoes, squash, corn, tomatoes, etc. are very inexpensive, some store for months, they are
highly nutritious, and they are filling. They will help to keep the whole family fit and strong.
For those that have access to quality meats, or wild game, then that is an excellent supplement to
consider depending on the time of the year, and what individual carbohydrate needs are.
Returning to ones traditional dietary roots seems to be a no-brainer, but knowing how to
do that is not always so obvious. However, if The People will embark on this journey they may
find that they not only reconnect with their ancestors, but that they also rediscover themselves in
this modern world. And, hopefully, connecting to ones roots is as easy as eating one or two.


Scott Shlegel on a Paleo Diet

Scott Shlegel on an 80% carb; 10% fat; 10% protein diet


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