Agriculture

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA), Native American Work Group Web Page
"The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is charged with protecting America's agricultural resources by keeping foreign pests and diseases out of the country, minimizing damage caused by wildlife, and protecting certain animals from inhumane treatment." APHIS works with tribal governments and others to achieve these goals on tribal lands, in accordance with trust obligations and respectful of tribal sovereignty. A number of pages describe APHIS in relation to this issue.

Cobble Mulch: An Anasazi Water-Conservation Gardening Technique
(Carleton S. White, David R. Dreesen and Samuel R. Loftin, Proceedings of the 42nd Annual New Mexico Water Conference, 1997).

Eastern Native Seed Conservancy
"The ENSC is dedicated to the biocultural conservation of economic plant resources, especially food and medicinal plants, adapted or endemic to the northeastern United States, with special consideration to those plants of native American origination or usage."

Hopi Agriculture
Very short but well done introduction to Hopi agriculture. Perhaps a good K12 resource. (Hopi Cultural Preservation Office).

Indigenous Agricultural and Environmental Knowledge Systems
A thematic essay on traditional environmental knowledge (TEK). (Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network, 1995).

Medicinal Plants of Native America
Created by Daniel E. Moerman and Stephen M. Beckstrom-Sternberg. The database contains 17,634 items on foods, drugs, dyes, fibers and other uses of plants, but Moerman has expanded this work and published it, as well as offering it online. Search the bibliographies for his name. (1994).

NAT'OH: The Native Tobacco People
About the NAT'OH: Native Tobacco People, a project to grow tobacco for sacred uses and to education Native Americans on the traditional use of this plant. The project in part hopes to address smoking as an addiction and public health problem. (Lawrence Shorty, Press release. Archive: NAE).

Native American Food Plants
A database version of the 1936 USDA publication, "Food Plants of the North American Indians," programmed by Stephen Beckstrom-Sternberg and James A. Duke. (1994).

Native Seeds/SEARCH
This non-profit organization "works to conserve the traditional crops, seeds, and farming methods that have sustained native peoples throughout the US Southwest and northern Mexico." Among their offerings are 1,400 seed stocks at very reasonable prices.

Seeds of Strength for Hopis and Zunis
This article discusses the important role of Hopi and Zuni agriculture in preserving the biological diversity of agricultural plants. (D. Soleri and D. Cleaveland, Seedling 10(4):13-18. Archive: Consortium for International Earth Science Information Network, 1993).

Traditional Native American Tobacco Seed Bank and Education Program
A seed conservatory and cultural education program on the use of native tobacco plants. "All tobacco is an extremely powerful, sacred and dangerous substance. When used properly and with respect, in small amounts in traditional American Indian ceremonies, tobacco is a positive source of power." Also describes the Tionantati educational programs he directs as part of this effort. (Joseph Winter and Lawrence Shorty).

Worldwide Plant Uses
The database contains 80,000 records of plant uses world-wide. Programmed by Stephen M. Beckstrom-Sternberg and James A. Duke (USDA). (1994).