Traditional Native Agriculture is Permaculture By Mark Rogers/Toyupahs Cuyahnu Montaukett/Matinecock Permaculture is defined as a synthesis of sustainable architecture, ecological engineering and environmental design producing a permanent self sustaining ecosystem that produces agriculture. In layman’s terms, the land itself is shaped to maximize the use of inputs such as sunlight, water and wind to create the best environment possible for outputs such as crops, livestock and energy. What makes the design work is the reliance on natural self regulating systems for maintenance. For example, the drainage pattern of a plot would be considered in planning to make maximum use of water as it exits the plot without disturbing the natural pattern. A good overview of the technology itself can be found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permaculture An in depth lecture series can be found here: networkearth.org/perma/culture.html So, what makes this such a useful technology? With proper land design and intensive companion planting, you can have a 5 acre plot of land produce nearly every resource several hundred people would need on 10 to 15 man hours of work per week. The productivity increases with more labor put in. Done properly the system will produce biomass, that is new fertile soil ,and become a self sustaining food forest. The resources produced are only limited by the species inputs placed into the system. The leading voice of this technology, Bill Mollison, freely admits that this is just an assembly of indigenous techniques put into a format understandable by Western standards. My own research of Indigenous technologies has stumbled on evidence to support this. A look at the layout of the Poverty Point earthworks using the principles of permaculture as a guide reveals a very sophisticated use of the land. Information on Poverty Point can be found here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poverty_Point The site consists of a series of 6 terraced berms in a semi circle surrounding a shoreline in the Mississippi Delta region. The prevailing theory is these ridges served as tiers for dwellings. Considering that runoff from rain would be slowed as it drained to the flood plain, where the visitor center is now located tells me this view is flawed. The earthwork, in my opinion, is really a set of swales made to keep the soil on the tiers at the right moisture for cultivation and to protect them from flooding. The mounds may actually be serving as tidal markers also to warn when the river would change course. The lack of evidence of corn cultivation, to me, does not prove that cultivation did not take place at the site. In my view, it supports that this was a very efficient system that converted plant waste to biomass very quickly and I think that examining the fertility of the soil would also support my theory. Further evidence of good land stewardship is the prevalence of wildlife at mound B. This seems to follow the idea of leaving a zone that is attractive to the game one would hunt. The sign of a flourishing wild zone is the presence of apex predators as they can’t exist without an abundant food source. Mound B is known to attract deer, squirrel and other game animals as well as black bear. The positioning of this mound also supports my theory as it is situated with a water source that keeps animals away from the swales and serves as a natural border leading to Mound A. Mound A seems to be the central point where entrance and exit is controlled and the entire site is within view. Looking at the site with all of this considered reveals a perfectly irrigated farming site that keeps game in a confined area and provides living space. In short, it is a self sustaining ecosystem designed to support human habitation with minimum labor output. I think it is important that we look at our past and place it in modern context. Permaculture works and our ancestors used it’s principles. This is a science that is based on natural law and natural models. This is important to Native people in terms of food security. Monoculture farming is proving to be unsustainable and inefficient. A 1/4 acre plot, using permaculture, could provide a family with 70% of their produce, except grains. The systems are very scalable and have been proven to work in any environment. Our Native nations need to look at this way of producing food to gain independence from a system that has taken us away from eating naturally. Putting these principles to use would produce good, healthy alternatives to the mainstream offerings and fight obesity and obesity related illnesses in the Native community. Native medicines can also be cultivated in such systems providing a cultural benefit as well as a health benefit. In closing, this technology is the natural extension of Three Sisters planting scaled up to include and entire ecosystem. This is the bounty that the first settlers saw and mistook for a natural layout. The forests of New England were tended according to the principles illustrated here. The ease of passage through forests in our area is evidence of this. We have to come back to these principles and see the great value our culture has as stewards of Turtle Island. I look forward to the day where we learn to care for our Grandmother so that she can properly care for us all.
Posted on: Sun, 15 Dec 2013 22:42:05 +0000
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