Help Us Build Foodlore Library
This image is Public Domain from the Library of Congress. It's a Qahatika Indian Woman using a long pole to harvest cactus fruit, Arizona. c1907.
Published in: The North American Indian / Edward S. Curtis. [Seattle, Wash.] : Edward S. Curtis, 1907-30, v. 2, p. 108. (source)
I love the photo because in the post below, I have a similar photo of a friend harvesting saguaro flowers. A friend and I are starting a food ezine called Foodlore Library as a way of collecting images like this of food traditions from the past AND from the present. Help us build this library by reading below:
Foodlore Library is an attempt to gather, save and share food stories that might otherwise go lost. We love stories like those in prior posts: one written by Ann Gates Weaver about harvesting saguaro fruit like the Papago Indians once did - who knew it takes the saguaro 40 years to flower and that making the syrup is sooo labor-intensive. Other stories include one about wild strawberry picking by my friend Jessica Spencer from rural Pennsylvania and one written by Marilyn and Craig Toone about eating out of their garden and fishing for trout on the Yellowstone River in Montana.
Your story doesn't have to be complicated or sophisticated- just share a little part of yourself and your love for food. Share a story about a family food tradition, your fav. comfort food (and why it is) some kind of food ritual you do. Check out our developing Web site (note- it's still in the rough phases) e-zine Foodlore Library
Feel free to also send us photos with descriptive captions. Some examples: a photo of you carving out a pumpkin, cooking with your grandmother, mushroom hunting, visiting an exotic locale and the food you found there, eating at your fav. hole-in-the wall restaurant or a photo of you eating around the dinner table with loved ones.
Any questions? Email editor@foodlorelibrary,com
Happy Eating,
Jen
1 comment:
So I love that pic too because I'm actually a fan of Edward Curtis. He took the first pics of several Native American tribes, so he made an important contribution to American history. However, he gets a bad rap for stuff like staging some photos, like this one for example. There is no fruit on the cactus. I only checked it out because I have a simliar one with the same story. They're suppossed to be harvesting... but no.
I still like the pic anyway.
So I'm glad you like my post. Truly, when I was doing preliminary research I know I couldn't find much on the internet, which is why the workshop I went to helped.
Mesquite pods were also an important Native American staple about anywhere the tree grows (and beyond due to trading as evidenced by ethnobotany research). The pods are very difficult to grind into flour so it won't be until Nov when I have access to a hammermill and join other Tucsonans to grind my own mesquite flour.
Post a Comment