This booklet is a great source describing traditional knowledge, which permitted the adaptive success of large human populations and the maintenance of Sierran environments for more than a hundred centuries.
1. 9 M . K AT A N D E R S O N American Indian Studies Center University of California Los Angeles, California M I C H A E L J. M O R AT TO Applied EarthWorks, Inc. Fresno, California California State University Fresno, California Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts A B S T R AC T programs for ecosystem management in the Sierra Nevada. This tra- ditional knowledge, which permitted the adaptive success of large During a span of 10,000 years or more, Native Americans in the Si- human populations and the maintenance of Sierran environments erra Nevada were sustained by hunting and fishing, gathering, lithic for more than a hundred centuries, must not be dismissed. quarrying, and trading. To meet their requirements for firewood, fish and game, vegetal foods, craft supplies, and building materials, the native peoples of the Sierra managed biotic resources intensive- ly, with significant ecological and evolutionary consequences. The distribution, structure, composition, and extent of certain plant com- INTRODUCTION munities, for example, were shaped by burning, pruning, sowing, weeding, tilling, and selective harvesting. Numerous “protoagri- Californians are faced with the growing necessity of finding cultural” techniques, based upon traditional knowledge of natural pro- ways to maintain the integrity and livability of their ecosys- cesses gained over the millennia, were applied to increase the quan- tems (Barbour et al. 1993; Jensen et al. 1993). Increasing knowl- tity and improve select qualities of focal plant species. Fire was the edge of the diverse ecological relationships of native peoples most important management tool, employed to clear brush, maintain to their environments affords an opportunity to assess these grasslands and meadows, improve browse for deer, enhance pro- relationships with respect to ecological principles and to duction of basketry and cordage materials, modify understory spe- assess their value for helping to solve regional and local cies composition in forests, and reduce fuel accumulation that might environmental problems (Nabhan 1995). Sustainability is in- otherwise sustain intense fires. Considering that the human popula- creasingly being defined in terms of conserving cultural as tion of the Sierra Nevada was approximately 90,000–100,000 in late well as biological diversity (Manley et al. 1995). The varied prehistoric times (ca. A.D. 1300–1800), the environmental conse- past approaches of Native Americans to resource use and quences of aboriginal land-use and management practices were sub- management in the Sierra Nevada could contribute signifi- stantial. There is currently an ecological “vacuum,” or disequilibrium, cantly to maintaining biological and cultural diversity, and in the Sierra resulting from the departure of Native American influ- improving human livelihood (Soulé and Kohm 1989). Re- ences. The recent decline in biotic diversity, species extirpation and source management by Native Americans in the Sierra Ne- endangerment, human encroachment into fire-type plant communi- vada bioregion was long term and widespread, producing ties (e.g., chaparral), and greatly increased risk of catastrophic fires ecological and evolutionary consequences in the biota (Black- are but symptoms of this disequilibrium. It is recommended, there- burn and Anderson 1993). Therefore, many ecosystems in the fore, that land-managing agencies and land-use planners incorpo- Sierra are not self-maintaining islands that require only pro- rate Native American traditional knowledge into future policies and tection to remain in a “pristine” state. There is currently an Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project: Final report to Congress, vol. II, Assessments and scientific basis for management options. Davis: University of California, Centers for Water and Wildland Resources, 1996. 187 Back to CD-ROM Table of Contents
2. 188 VOLUME II, CHAPTER 9 ecological “vacuum,” or disequilibrium, in the Sierra Nevada Furthermore, early humans were effective hunters, influenc- resulting from the departure of Native Americans from man- ing the distribution, abundance, and diversity of wildlife aging these ecosystems. within their tribal territories. To understand the vegetation This chapter explores why present-day management and of a particular locality or region at a specific time requires restoration of the Sierra Nevada bioregion should be knowledge of soil, topography, climate, natural processes, and grounded in historical as well as ecological research. It pro- history of land use by Native Americans. vides an overview of the Native Americans who inhabited We are in the first stages of documenting in a detailed and the Sierra Nevada during the early 1800s as well as those who intensive manner the prehistoric and historic land-manage- live there today, their land-use activities, management prac- ment practices in the Sierra Nevada. Deliberate management tices, environmental ethics, and potential beneficial and nega- of wild plant and animal resources and habitats was a major tive ecological effects in different ecosystem types. Also, it element of Native American subsistence strategies. Yet, in- asks a series of questions about the state of knowledge and vestigation of the relationships between such land-manage- substantiated evidence for modification of Sierran landscapes ment activities and their ecological consequences is a nascent by indigenous peoples. Specific examples of production sys- field of study. In fact, there exists no synthesis or detailed tems for three cultural use categories—basketry, foods, and analysis of past wildlife management by Native Americans cordage—are given. Ecological consequences of removing and its potential ecological impacts in the Sierra Nevada. It is Native Americans from traditional economic and land- clear that Native American land-management practices had management roles in the Sierra Nevada are examined, and significant ecological and evolutionary consequences on the an agenda for future policy, research, and management di- biota, but the details of these impacts will remain unknown rections as well as collaborative efforts with contemporary for specific geographic regions until interdisciplinary teams Native Americans is proposed. conduct more comprehensive studies. If the goal of public land-managing agencies is to preserve certain ecosystems in some semblance of their pre-contact Relevance of Native American Environmental structures and functions, then they can no longer ignore these History to Sierra Nevada Ecosystem Project anthropogenic effects and must investigate the possibility of simulating some of the earlier cultural practices (Anderson Knowledge of the history of natural systems is an essential 1993a; Wagner et al. 1995). The most recent argument against component of scientific analysis (Crumley 1994; Smith 1994). using pre-contact vegetation as a baseline for contemporary This history influences our ability to assess the present health wildland management is that it would be treating ecosystems and condition of ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada and to pre- as “living museums” rather than as dynamic systems. This dict the future (Woolfenden 1994). Plant-community organi- argument holds that wilderness areas should be treated as zation and assemblages are expressions of species evolution places where nonhuman life and ecological processes are and species behavior (Whittaker and Woodwell 1972), and unimpeded (Parsons et al. 1986). Yet pre-Euro-American veg- plant adaptations are responses to past environmental condi- etation was far from fixed. The underlying management phi- tions. Native Americans, as integral residents of the Sierra losophy of Native Americans in the Sierra Nevada was to Nevada, modified environmental conditions, dispersed plant continuously introduce small disturbance regimes into vari- species to new areas, and created recent evolutionary modifi- ous plant-community types, which created openings or clear- cations in the flora through human selection for particular ings. These openings invited the colonization of plant species traits. Thus, Native Americans were instigators of ecosystemic that could not grow in the surrounding dominant vegetation change with varying degrees of intensity during the time they type. These clearings represented a series of earlier succes- inhabited the Sierra, beginning some 10,000 years ago (Elston sional stages within a more homogeneous landscape. Rather et al. 1977; Moratto 1984; Moratto et al. 1988; Peak and Crew than reflecting an unchanging system, these landscapes were 1990; Rondeau 1982). much more dynamic under the influence of human distur- The Sierra Nevada did not fit the definition of an uninhab- bance than in their “natural” state. ited, virgin wilderness at the point of Euro-American con- The nature and intensity of human intervention varied both tact. Rather, it had been shaped by thousands of years of geographically and diachronically. For example, some areas indigenous burning, pruning, sowing, selective harvesting, were subject only to lightning fires; other areas experienced and tilling (Anderson and Nabhan 1991; Simms 1992). Na- both lightning- and Indian-set fires; and yet other areas were tive Americans have managed Sierran ecosystems in a non- shaped largely by anthropogenic forces (i.e., frequent random fashion, using a variety of horticultural techniques. Indian-set fires). The creation of specialized habitats intensi- Such management is substantiated by ethnohistoric and eth- fied plant-plant, plant-animal, animal-animal, human-animal, nographic records, studies of museum artifacts, paleoecologi- and human-plant relationships, creating a highly interactive cal findings, fire scar studies, and ecological field studies system that ultimately changed vegetation patterns over time. (Anderson 1993b; Anderson and Carpenter 1991; Kilgore and Hence, the objective is not to re-create exactly a static picture Taylor 1979; Lewis 1993; Matson 1972; Roper Wickstrom 1987). of historic landscapes, but rather to investigate and under-
3. 189 Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts stand the native cultural processes that drove biological diver- this region was inhabited by approximately thirteen “tribes” sity and shaped various ecosystem states and to unravel the (ethnic groups speaking separate languages) composed of ecological principles embedded in ancient land-management many “tribelets” (Kroeber 1962). This variety of cultures was systems. As Christensen (1988) has recognized, diverse dis- reflected in diverse adaptations to Sierran environments and turbances play an essential role in the long-term maintenance myriad land-use and resource-management strategies. Tribes of virtually all ecosystems. on the west side of the Sierra included the Maidu, Konkow, Nisenan, Northern Sierra Miwok, Central Sierra Miwok, Southern Sierra Miwok, Foothill Yokuts (Poso Creek, Tule- The Study of Native American Land- Kaweah, Kings River, and Northern Hill), Western Mono Management Practices (Monache), and Tübatulabal; on the east side of the moun- Analysis of indigenous protoagricultural practices yields a tains were the Northern Paiute, Washoe, and Owens Valley baseline of historical ecological information about the diver- Paiute; the Kawaiisu (and to some extent, the Washoe) held sity, dynamics, and functioning of plant communities in the land on both sides of the range (figure 9.1). Sierra Nevada under former disturbance regimes. It also of- Maidu lands included the Susan River, the Red Clover, fers other models of human cultural intervention in nature. Valley Indian, and Willow Creeks, and the upper stretches of Simulating some of these practices in long-term field experi- the North Fork of the Feather River, while the Konkow occu- ments would elucidate the effects of aboriginal activities upon pied the watersheds of the Middle and South Forks of the natural resources in the Sierra Nevada and disclose the ex- Feather River and the lower stretches of the North Fork of tent to which ecosystem health in the areas of soil productiv- the Feather River (Riddell 1978). The Nisenan inhabited the ity, gene conservation, biodiversity, landscape patterns, drainages of the Yuba, Bear, and American Rivers and the low- nutrient cycling, and an array of ecological processes is tied est reaches of the Feather River; they moved seasonally to to former native economic and management activities. Na- higher elevations (Wilson and Towne 1978). The Sierra Miwok tive Americans have influenced Sierran landscapes over many (or Me-Wuk) comprised three divisions: the Northern Sierra generations. Their traditional knowledge of former abun- Miwok occupied foothills and mountains of the Mokelumne dances, composition, density, and quality of plant and ani- and Calaveras River drainages; the Central Sierra Miwok mal species extends to time periods long before the advent of claimed the foothill and upland portions of the Stanislaus and governmental land management. Their land-use practices Tuolumne watersheds; and the territory of the Southern Si- were successful for thousands of years in maintaining diverse erra Miwok embraced the upper reaches of the Merced and and productive ecosystems. The time depth of this traditional Chowchilla Rivers (Levy 1978). The Foothill Yokuts (or North- knowledge may provide a sense of what has been lost in Sier- ern Hill Yokuts) occupied the foothills from the Fresno River ran landscapes since aboriginal times. Contemporary native basin southward to the Kern River (Spier 1978a). At higher cultures still maintain some of the traditional practices, and elevations were the Western Mono (Monache), with six geo- these may serve as analogs for testing alternative wildland- graphic subdivisions: the Northfork Mono, Wobonuch, management strategies, restoring endangered ecosystems and Entimbich, Michahay, Waksachi, and Patwisha (Spier 1978b). species, enhancing the productivity and biodiversity of wild- In the southern Sierra Nevada foothills, the Tübatulabal oc- lands, and maintaining culturally significant plant resources cupied the Kern and South Fork of the Kern River country; for the perpetuation of native cultural traditions (Birckhead three Tübatulabal bands are recognized: Pahkanapïl, et al. 1992; Martinez 1992). If ecologists and land managers Palagewan, and Bankalachi (Smith 1978). could understand the intricacies and mechanics of how and Portions of the eastern Sierra were inhabited by the North- why native people shaped ecosystems, it would enrich their ern Paiute, Owens Valley Paiute, and Kawaiisu (figure 9.1). inventory of management methods and enhance their ability The Northern Paiute occupied a vast territory extending from to make informed decisions. the Sierran crest eastward to Reese River and from Mono Lake northward to the Snake River country (Fowler and Liljeblad 1986). Bordering the Northern Paiute, south of Mono Lake, the Owens Valley Paiute inhabited Owens, Round, and Long Valleys, and frequented the White and Inyo Mountains as well O V E RV I E W : P R E - C O N TA C T as the eastern slopes and crestal zone of the Sierra Nevada to N AT I V E A M E R I C A N obtain seasonal resources (Liljeblad and Fowler 1986). The I N T E RV E N T I O N I S T A P P ROAC H Kawaiisu homeland was in the southeastern Sierra Nevada T O N AT U R E and adjacent portions of the Tehachapi and Piute Mountains. Settlements were focused along the Kern and South Fork of Indian Tribes of the Sierra Nevada the Kern Rivers, with seasonal use of the Sierra Nevada foot- There were numerous, distinctive cultures in the Sierra Ne- hills from Kelso Valley up through the Walker Pass locality vada at the time of historic contact. During the early 1800s, (Zigmond 1981, 1986). The Washoe, linguistically unrelated to their Paiute neighbors, held the Lake Tahoe Basin, a series
4. 190 VOLUME II, CHAPTER 9 FIGURE 9.1 Tribal territories in the Sierra Nevada and adjacent regions, ca. A.D. 1800.
5. 191 Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts of montane valleys accented by Honey Lake, Washoe Lake, massacre, forced conversion, starvation, and exposure and Topaz Lake, and diverse biotic zones on the arid lands all took a tremendous toll of life, but the sweeping epi- east of the Sierran crest, below Lake Tahoe (d’Azevedo 1986). demics of the 1830s were even more devastating [see Cook 1955b]. Together, these forces destroyed in the ag- gregate fully 75 per cent of the aboriginal population. Native American Populations The distribution of Native American populations in the Si- Taking into account a wide range of information from early erra Nevada was greatly influenced by environmental and Spanish, Mexican, and other historical sources, Cook (1955a) cultural factors. On a regional scale, population densities were estimated aboriginal populations of 7,600 for the Kaweah highest and “permanent” settlements most frequent at eleva- River drainage, 3,500 for the Merced, 9,100 for the Kings, tions below 1,000–1,250␣ m (3,300–4,100␣ ft); higher -altitude 19,000 for the Mariposa area, Chowchilla, Fresno, and upper sites typically were occupied mostly during the warm sea- San Joaquin Rivers, and 4,150 for the “foothill strip,” includ- son. Population densities tended to be substantially higher ing lands of the Central and Northern Miwok. This yields a on the western side of the range than along the Great Basin subtotal of 43,350 people in the southwestern Sierra Nevada. rim, east of the Sierran crest. Within these broad patterns, In the northwestern Sierra, populations of 1,050 for the Moun- populations were geographically diverse. In each locality such tain Maidu and 7,400 for the combined Hill Maidu (Konkow) variables as terrain, biotic diversity and richness, availability and Nisenan are estimated (Cook 1976b), giving a subtotal of of water, and access to toolstone, as well as the traditional 8,450. Adding roughly 500 for the Northern Paiute, 1,500 for land-use practices of the local society, affected carrying ca- the Washoe, 1,000 for the Owens Valley Paiute, and 500 for pacity of the land and thus human population levels. On a the Kawaiisu (Kroeber 1925) yields 3,500 as a subtotal for the micro scale, the siting of individual camps or villages reflected eastern Sierra. Taken together, these estimates total 55,300. such considerations as view, aspect, slope, drainage, insola- This total, however, may be substantially lower than the tion, vegetative cover, protection from wind, avoidance of cold actual native population of the Sierra Nevada prior to ca. 1830. sinks, proximity to water and economic resources, outcrops Some of the estimates may fall short of the mark because of of bedrock suitable for use as mills, nearby trails, perceived reliance on postepidemic observations. Even so, several his- flood or fire hazards, and perhaps defense, as well as the in- torical accounts refer to large populations: James D. Savage, tended site function, number of residents, anticipated dura- who was involved with numerous Sierran tribes before the tion of occupation, and proximity to other settlements. gold rush, estimated in 1851 that 50,000–55,000 Native Ameri- The number of residents at particular sites ranged from a cans lived in the area between the Tuolumne and the Kern few (e.g., several men in a hunting camp) to a few hundred in Rivers; O. M. Wozencraft, a U.S. Indian commissioner, in 1852 the larger villages. Intermediate in size were seasonal and set the native population of the area between the Yuba and special-purpose encampments. Late prehistoric/protohistoric the Mokelumne Rivers at 40,000, noting that old residents said Sierran peoples often were organized into “village commu- the number had been twice as large in 1848; and Indian agent nities,” each consisting of a named, principal village under a Adam Johnson in 1853 estimated that Sierran and Central chief or headperson and a number of smaller, tributary settle- Valley Indians totaled 80,000 (Cook 1955a). Although Cook ments (Kroeber 1962; Merriam 1967). The central villages of characterized these accounts as “broad generalizations based such communities were often situated near major streams in largely upon subjective impression and applying to the years favorable settings within the lower Transition and upper preceding 1847” (1955a, 33), they do suggest that the ethno- Sonoran life zones. graphic population estimates are likely too low. Baumhoff’s Any estimate of aboriginal (i.e., pre-A.D.␣ 1800) populations (1963) study of ecological determinants of population, show- in the Sierra Nevada must be framed by caveats. Population ing that the “actual populations” of some groups were well levels fluctuated over time in response to paleoenvironmental below the numbers predicted on the basis of carrying capac- changes (Moratto et al. 1978, 1988); different methods of esti- ity, also would seem to support higher estimates. The Central mation (e.g., reliance on historical accounts, ethnographic rec- and Southern Sierra Miwok, for example, had predicted ver- ollections, or ecologic models) yield divergent results (cf. sus “actual” populations of 8,547 versus 4,410 and 8,503 ver- Baumhoff 1963; Cook 1976b; Kroeber 1925; Merriam 1905); sus 5,766, respectively (Baumhoff 1963). Moreover, the density and even such “accurate” historical documents as U.S. War of late prehistoric sites in many Sierran localities would sug- Department and Office of Indian Affairs records from the gest a level of occupational intensity greater than implied by 1850s may not be reliable indicators of earlier population lev- ethnographic testimony. All things considered, 90,000–100,000 els. As S. F. Cook (1955a, 70) has noted, seems a reasonable approximation of the number of Native Americans living in the Sierra Nevada during the early 1800s. The depletion of population in the San Joaquin Valley Ecological implications of this population level are discussed [including the adjacent Sierra] between 1800 and 1850 later in this chapter. was far greater than has been appreciated. . .␣ . W arfare,
6. 192 VOLUME II, CHAPTER 9 deal to teach resource managers. Some basket weavers have Native Americans Today been involved in blending western and nonwestern knowl- Although today their ancestral lands are occupied mostly by edge systems in on-the-ground resource management on other peoples, each Native American polity in the Sierra Ne- USFS lands (Anderson 1992; CIBA 1993; Lorri Planas, vada has maintained a distinct ethnic identity. Their contem- Choinumni/Mono, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1994). porary needs, goals, and worldviews have stemmed from a difficult past, including 200 years of Indian resistance to Euro- American appropriation of their land and natural resources Past Economic Activities (Cook 1976a; Heizer 1974; Hurtado 1988; Phillips 1993; Rawls To meet their basic needs, native peoples of the Sierra Ne- 1984). Many of the native groups regulate their business and vada practiced such diverse subsistence activities as gather- conduct financial affairs through formal tribal councils. Some ing, hunting, fishing, firewood use, and toolstone quarrying. tribes own and operate their own museums. Intra- and inter- A variety of greens, fruits, bulbs, corms, tubers, and mush- tribal gatherings occur up and down the Sierra Nevada an- rooms was gathered by each community. Staple foods in- nually and are known variously as acorn festivals, Indian cluded acorns from oaks (Quercus douglasii, Q. chrysolepis, Q. days, big times, and powwows. The current activities and lore kelloggii, Q. wislizenii, Q. garryana, Q. vaccinifolia, Q. of the Native Americans have emerged from a blending of berberidifolia) and a number of small, hard seeds from native ancient botanical knowledge and a sustained interest in their grasses and broad-leaved herbaceous plants. Additionally, cultural heritage. Language is intimately tied with gathering native peoples procured deer, fish, small game, insects, and and management knowledge. Most of the languages in the other animals (Barrett and Gifford 1933; Curtis 1924; DeQuille Sierra Nevada are still spoken, but some of the cultural groups 1963; Merriam 1955; Powers 1976). This diversity of food re- have only one or two fluent speakers left (Hinton 1994). Indi- sources was obtained by following an annual cycle of popu- viduals of both sexes and of all ages still gather plants. Uses lation movements that coincided with seasonal availability of plants and animals that had been relinquished have re- of specific resources; often this involved warm-season aban- gained importance among some families in recent years. Most donment of villages in the foothills as populations dispersed of the tribes in the Sierra Nevada have an insignificant land to small, temporary camps at higher elevations (Barrett and base or none at all; consequently, they are forced to gather Gifford 1933; Kroeber 1925). In addition to acquiring plants mostly on public lands. The loss of habitat—wetlands, over- and animals for food, Native Americans gathered large quan- flow channels of streams, black oak–ponderosa pine mixed tities of plant material for firewood, basketry, cordage, and conifer forest, and so on—for culturally significant plants is construction purposes. Native American relationships to the extensive. Newly formed organizations such as the Califor- land were highly interactive. Areas were manipulated annu- nia Indian Basketweavers’ Association (CIBA) have expressed ally, biennially, triennially, or quadrennially to augment wild concerns, on behalf of their members from different tribes, plant populations and create shifting mosaics of different about such habitat loss and other issues facing those involved vegetation types. Both small patches and extensive areas of in traditional uses of the land. vegetation were burned, and individual plants were pruned, Despite a turbulent history and subsequent acculturation, dug, shaken, knocked, or weeded (Clara Charlie, Chukchansi- California Indian elders are still a substantial source of infor- Choinimni Yokuts, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1990; mation about present and former traditional plant uses and Bill Franklin, Sierra Miwok, conversation with M. K. Ander- management practices, and in some cases elders are still prac- son, 1990; Grace Tex, North Fork Mono, conversation with ticing plant management adjacent to their homes. Burning M. K. Anderson, 1991). for cultural resources occurred “on the sly” on U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands as late as the 1950s, and some traditional management is still conducted on several reservations and Past Land-Management Practices and rancherias. Unfortunately, many plant ecologists and resource Ecological Consequences managers still distrust or discount this anecdotal information. Until recently, vegetation types in the Sierra Nevada were Yet, some of the richest details of former resource-manage- viewed as “natural,” and their productivity was maintained ment practices have come from ethnographic interviews con- through natural disturbance in the complete absence of hu- ducted this decade (Anderson 1993b). The accuracy of these man influence (Nichols 1989; Parsons et al. 1986). It is now accounts is verified through cross-referencing with testimony recognized that many ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada from other families, both within and between tribes. Oral his- evolved through significant human intervention (Blackburn tories are then combined with information from museum and Anderson␣ 1993; Lewis 1993; W agner and Kay 1993). The studies, ethnographic and ethnohistoric accounts, and the ability of Native Americans to meet their economic needs was archaeological record to provide the most thorough recon- sustained not only through hunting, fishing, and gathering struction of past human activities on the land. Native Ameri- but also through a variety of horticultural techniques includ- can systems of knowledge about the environment have a great ing burning, irrigating, pruning, selective harvesting, sow-
7. 193 Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts ing, and weeding. These horticultural practices were exercised 1. Dispersal agents. Native Americans were intentional and most commonly in five Sierran vegetation types: foothill sometimes inadvertent agents of plant dispersal that has woodland, chaparral, mixed conifer forest, riparian corridor, rearranged the distribution of some species and created and meadow. Fire was the most important management tool, unusual plant distributions and polymorphisms. employed by the Native Americans to clear brush, maintain 2. Agents of habitat modification. Native Americans expanded grasslands and meadows, improve browse for deer, enhance and maintained suitable habitat in both time and space production of basketry and cordage materials, modify under- for desired species without necessarily altering character story species composition in forests, and reduce fuel accu- traits. mulation that might otherwise sustain intense fires. Ecological effects of horticultural techniques varied in time and space, 3. Agents of genetic modification. Native Americans modified depending upon the cultural objective and plant-community the gene pools and genetic structures of plants through type. Some of the horticultural techniques used by native selective harvesting and transplanting. Over hundreds to peoples of the Sierra Nevada and a general definition for wild- thousands of years, specific genotypes of many intensively plant management are summarized as follows. used plant species were selected by Native Americans and Wild-plant management is the human manipulation of therefore probably still exhibit character traits that are native plants, plant populations, and habitats, in accordance adapted to small-scale human disturbance regimes. with ecological principles and concepts, that effects a change (either beneficial or negative) in plant abundance, diversity, The potential linkage between a culture’s horticultural prac- growth, longevity, yield, and quality to meet cultural needs tices, uses of particular plant species, and selection pressures (Anderson 1993a). Management techniques include: exerted on those species has not been sufficiently studied. For example, as a demonstration of combined dispersal and se- Burning: applying fire to particular vegetation areas un- lection, the high variability in blue camas (Camassia quamash) der specified environmental conditions and descriptors in the Sierra Nevada is probably due to the trading and selec- such as seasonality, fire-return interval, and dimensions tive harvesting practices of different tribes (Susan D’Alcamo, to achieve select cultural purposes. conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1993). One possible study would be to compare the morphological variation in popula- Irrigating: supplying select land areas with water by tions of a native species gathered in several different tribal means of diversion and artificial channels. territories with the differences in local harvesting and man- Pruning: removing dead and living parts from native agement regimes. plants to enhance growth, form, or fruit and seed pro- duction. Past Land-Ownership Patterns Selective harvesting: harvesting in a discriminate, repeti- Native American societies recognized territorial boundaries tive manner that leads to intended or unintended selec- and community ownership of land coupled with individual tion of traits, which in turn leads to evolutionary modi- responsibility for resource conservation and use (Kroeber fications such as enlargement of the favored plant part, 1925, 1962). Increasing evidence shows that use and improve- reduction of the potential for reproduction by seed, or ment of areas through cultivation gave a family or commu- color changes in the fruit or seed. nity exclusive use rights to that area. Thus, within each tribal Sowing: broadcasting seed collected from native plants territory there were numerous traditional collection sites for onto an area, usually recently burned ground. basketry material, acorns, clover, mushrooms, cordage fibers, and so on (Curtis 1924; Gayton 1948; Wilson 1972; Norma Tilling: removing earth in the harvest of underground Turner, Mono, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1992). Euro- perennial plant organs (e.g., roots, rhizomes, corms, American law and practice, imposed upon the Sierra Nevada bulbs), frequently followed by the subsequent dividing during the mid-nineteenth century and subsequently, en- of these organs and leaving of individual fragments in shrined private ownership rights even at the expense of com- the soil. munity interests. These sharp cultural differences are reflected Transplanting: digging up a plant or a portion of a plant in the land-use practices of pre- and post-contact populations. and moving it to another place. Weeding: removing unwanted plant species near favored Land-Use Ethic plant species. Although Native American economic and management prac- tices in the Sierra Nevada were diverse, they were nonethe- There are three broad realms in which Native Americans less unified by a fundamental land-use ethic: to interact with acted as agents of environmental change: nature respectfully and in ways allowing all life forms to co- exist. This ethic transcended cultural and political boundaries.
8. 194 VOLUME II, CHAPTER 9 It comprised spiritual, philosophical, and economic dimen- and other plant parts that could be propagated in new areas. sions that encouraged sustained relationships between hu- For example, seeds were exchanged between families of man societies and Sierran environments over spans of Yokuts descent (Gayton 1948). In recent ethnographic inter- centuries or millennia. In Native American cosmologies, hu- views, Ruby Cordero (Chukchansi Yokuts) and Hector Franco mans are viewed as part of the natural system; thus, all life (Wukchumni Yokuts) have described burning to promote seed forms are related to humans and must be treated with respect. crops. Additionally, after being burned, areas were sometimes Legends, ceremonies, songs, dances, and arts were and con- sown with seed (Hudson 1901; Steward 1938). tinue to be integrated parts of the spiritual systems, instruct- ing the people in right and wrong behavior and the position Were Native American Settlement and Land- and obligations of each person within the group (Swezey Use Patterns Repetitive and of Adequate 1975). Land-use and land-management activities were guided Duration to Cause Permanent Effects on the by complex cultural rules, sophisticated knowledge of repro- Vegetation? ductive biology, and awareness of community ecology. Aldo Leopold’s land ethic is most akin to native philosophy in that Yes. Indians have occupied the Sierra Nevada for at least he advocated that humans should avoid both the dangers of 9,000–10,000 years (Moratto 1984; Moratto et al. 1988). It has overexploitation and the inactivity of preservation (Callicott been widely assumed until recently that Native Americans in 1990). One of the most provocative ideas found in Native the Sierra Nevada were “hunter-gatherers” who did not prac- American views is that human intervention in nature does tice agriculture and whose environmental impacts were neg- not necessarily create disharmony. When Native American ligible. There is increasing archaeological, paleoecological, elders today are asked what has changed in the Sierra Ne- ethnographic, and ethnohistoric evidence, however, that vada, they are apt to respond by saying simply, “No one is human manipulations were regular, constant, and long term, gathering or tending areas anymore.” The idea that human causing cumulative and permanent effects in plant associa- use ensures an abundance and diversity of plant and animal tions, species composition, and in the gene pools and genetic life appears to have been an ancient one in the minds of na- structures of species in a multitude of Sierra Nevada veg- tive people, and there is very likely an ecological as well as a etation types (Anderson and Carpenter 1991; Blackburn and spiritual basis for this belief (Blackburn and Anderson 1993). Anderson 1993; Anderson 1993a; Kilgore and Taylor 1979). This is not to say that particular land-use and resource-man- agement activities persisted unchanged throughout the Ho- locene. Indeed, the archaeological record shows that population densities, land-use intensity, and specific economic EVIDENCE FOR WIDESPREAD practices did vary diachronically. Periods of notably intense M O D I F I C AT I O N O F S I E R R A N cultural activity (e.g., ca. 7500–6000␣ B.C., 1000 B.C.–A.D. 700, A.D. LANDSCAPES: SPECIFIC 1300–1800) were separated by times of diminished popula- QUESTIONS tions and concomitantly reduced land use. During each in- terval, prevailing economic practices were applied over a span Were the Technologies of Native Americans of centuries. The most recent period of intensive land use in the Sierra Nevada Capable of Creating endured for some five hundred years before Euro-Americans Widespread Ecological Change? entered the Sierra Nevada. This interval was long enough that Yes. Although most of the prehistoric tools (the digging stick, Native American human activities caused substantial envi- knocking stick, obsidian knife, seed beater, etc.) used in the ronmental effects. Sierra Nevada appear simple and unable to affect vast areas, Special areas were designated for basketry materials, bulb the fire-making kit allowed people to alter landscapes. Burn- gathering, seed collecting, cordage-fiber harvesting, or greens ing was probably the most widely employed, efficient, and picking and were shaped by continual long-term use and significant vegetation-management tool used in the Sierra management (Aginsky 1943; Latta 1977; Voegelin 1938). Tech- Nevada (Anderson 1994; Lewis 1993; Reynolds 1959). Knowl- nologies such as basketry and cordage are extremely ancient edge and use of the slow match and torch recorded for most fiber arts in North America; basketry fragments radiocarbon- tribes gave native peoples the technological capability to burn dated to more than 10,000 years B.P. have been found in west- either small patches or extensive tracts of vegetation in a sys- ern North America (Adovasio 1974). These fragments tematic fashion. Frequent burning promoted a herbaceous demonstrate qualities that show that they were manufactured understory vegetation within woodlands and coniferous for- with the same techniques as those used for historic baskets. ests. This continuous and sufficient fuel bed facilitated the Presumably, fire was employed to stimulate the production burning of land of large areal extent. Felling trees with fire to of long shrub shoots wherever the basketry craft diffused in promote type conversions was a capability of most tribes California. Additionally, management of gathering sites was (Driver 1937; Driver and Massey 1957). Extensive trade net- a way of visually marking one’s relationship with the area works in the Sierra Nevada promoted the exchange of seeds and was a signal for gaining land-use rights. Place names,
9. 195 Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts ethnographic work with contemporary elders in different gathered from fire-managed areas, as well as careful experi- tribes, and the ethnohistoric and ethnographic literature mentation and replication, need to be developed to better un- all substantiate the fact that resources were gathered from derstand the sustained resource needs of a typical, pre-contact long-term collection sites inherited through relatives (Gladys Sierra Nevada community (Blackburn and Anderson 1993). McKinney, Dunlap Mono, conversation with M. K. Ander- One thing is clear: modern population levels and trends in son, 1992; Norma Turner, Mono, Dumna Yokuts, conversa- the Sierra Nevada are unprecedented and already exceed tion with M. K. Anderson, 1991). those of pre-contact Native Americans by more than an order of magnitude. Was the Protohistoric Human Population in the Sierra of a Magnitude Sufficient to Cause Which Land-Use Activities Required the Widespread Ecological Impacts? Highest Quantity of Plant Material from Managed Environments? Probably. The carrying capacity of Sierran environments for human populations varied significantly in space and time. Basketry, cordage, firewood, and foods. These cultural use By 1000 B.C. the west side of the Sierra Nevada was widely categories required gathering on a frequent, repetitive basis and intensively inhabited (Moratto 1984). The Native Ameri- and demanded the collection of large amounts of plant mate- can population of the Sierra Nevada in A.D.␣ 1800 was pr ob- rials from managed environments. For example, the basket- ably on the order of 90,000–100,000 (supra). There is no known weaving industry required a large-scale effort to manage, archaeological evidence for larger numbers at any earlier time, harvest, size, cure, and weave plant materials into baskets although populations during the 1000 B.C. to A.D. 500 interval for each village. This industry was at the very heart of Native might have been comparable to those of late prehistoric times, American material culture in the Sierra Nevada. Specialized ca. A.D. 1300–1800 (Moratto et al. 1988). baskets were manufactured variously to serve as seed beat- One measure of impact potential is population density. ers, winnowing devices, burden packs, storage containers, Kroeber (1939) calculated densities per 100␣ km2 (39␣ mi2) of cooking vessels for stone-boiling of mush, parching trays, 0–5 for the Northern Paiute; 10–25 for the Washoe, Owens bowls and cups, cradleboards, and fish traps, and for myriad Valley Paiute, and Western Mono; 25–45 for the Maidu, other uses. Practicing the art of basketry demanded a steady, Konkow, and Nisenan together; 45–70 for the Sierra Miwok; large supply of uniform plant materials for weaving. Hun- and 70-plus for the Foothill Yokuts. Other estimates of popu- dreds of thousands of young shoots from different plant spe- lation densities for Sierran tribes tend to be similar or higher cies were needed annually. These amounts were sufficiently (cf. Baumhoff 1963; Cook 1955a, 1976a, 1976b). Populations large as to make opportunistic gathering (wherever one might were not distributed evenly within any territory, but rather find the right material) prohibitive. Thus, collecting basketry were concentrated near major streams in the upper Sonoran material was not happenstance, but was, rather, a sizable col- and lower Transition zones. Because of seasonal movements, lective enterprise (table 9.1). a single community could affect environments in several lo- Great efficiency was needed to gather enough materials calities at different elevations during the course of its annual yearly to comply with the strict standards for the manufac- cycle of dispersion and aggregation. ture of many cultural items. Most of the basketry materials If one assumes a pre-contact Sierran population of about could not be used right away, but required a storage period 100,000 distributed among settlements averaging, say, thirty- to season them. This period varied from one to four years five residents each (five houses of seven residents each), then depending upon the plant species (Bates and Lee 1990; Mar- at any given time there would have been roughly 2,860 settle- garet Mathewson, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1992). ments, each of which would have required firewood, fish and Women had to plan ahead, gathering that year’s new growth game, vegetal foods, craft supplies, and construction materi- for a basket they might make two or three years later. To rely als for dwellings and sweat houses, ramadas, grinding booths, on natural fires from lightning to induce production of large granaries, and, in principal villages, ceremonial lodges. Al- numbers of desirable shoots would be risky, because light- lowing for seasonal relocations and special-use camps, the ning could strike in the wrong plant-community type, not number of sites occupied per year easily could have been strike in a location with suitable kinds of plant species, or hit 5,000–10,000. The magnitude of impact would have reflected too far away. Setting fires in the area where the plants grew not only the direct results of occupation per se (involving was far more efficient. These facts support a burning regime perhaps a few hectares per settlement) but also resource ex- that was very frequent, to keep shrubs at a young growth traction, effects of predation, and intentional burning within stage in order to obtain a continuous supply of a tremendous a catchment of perhaps 5–10␣ km 2 (2–4␣ mi 2). quantity of usable shoots for the making of many kinds of Not enough is known about the resource requirements and baskets. extent of land managed to meet those demands of each tribe’s Firewood, too, was required in large quantities. Domestic settlements. Quantitative models based upon detailed ar- fires were used to singe game, braise meat, preheat earth ov- chaeological studies and analyses of museum specimens ens, heat stones for boiling acorn and other foods, raise the
10. 196 VOLUME II, CHAPTER 9 TABLE 9.1 Comparison of numbers of useful shoots from unmanaged versus managed shrubs used for Western Mono basketrya (adapted from Anderson 1993b). Unmanaged Managed Plants Plants Basket Type Plant Species Used Shoots per Basket per Basket per Basket Burden Ceanothus cuneatus 2 10 shrubs 1 shrub Rhus trilobata 1,200 (1.2 m each) 400 patches 12 patches Cercis occidentalis 25 (1.8 m each) 50 shrubs 1 shrub Full-sized Rhus trilobata 675 102 patches 6 patches cradleboard Cercis occidentalis 75 (1.8 m each) 150 shrubs 6 shrubs Ceanothus cuneatus 13 65 shrubs 1 shrub Twined seed beater Ceanothus cuneatus 2 (for rim) 10 shrubs 1 shrub Ceanothus cuneatus 188 (for warp and weft) 376 shrubs 15 shrubs Seed gathering Ceanothus cuneatus 2 (for rim) 10 shrubs 1 shrub Ceanothus cuneatus 376 (for warp and weft) 752 shrubs 31 shrubs Cercis occidentalis 50 100 shrubs 4 shrubs Twined sifter Rhus trilobata 1,000 (1.1 m each) 333 patches 10 patches Cercis occidentalis 25 (1.8 m each) 50 shrubs 2 shrubs aBased on discussions with Norma Turner (Western Mono weaver). Management methods are pruning and burning. Unmanaged Cercis occidentalis Managed Cercis occidentalis 1 1.8 m shoot/shrub 25 1.8 m shoots/shrub 3 0.9 m shoots/shrub 25 0.9 m shoots/shrub Unmanaged Rhus trilobata Managed Rhus trilobata 10 short shoots/patch 100 short shoots/patch 3 long shoots/patch 100 long shoots/patch Unmanaged Ceanothus cuneatus Managed Ceanothus cuneatus 1 rim shoot/5 shrubs 2 larger-diameter shoots/shrub (for rim) 2 smaller shoots/shrub 10–15 smaller-diameter shoots/shrub (for warp and weft) temperature in sweat houses, provide illumination after dark, the Sierra Nevada was to keep the underbrush down to pre- and warm houses during cold weather. Fires were also used vent a large, devastating fire (Clara Charlie, Chukchansis- to fell and cut trees for house posts and rafters, to char post Choinumni, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991; Bill butts (as a wood preservative), and, among the Yokuts, Mono, Franklin, Sierra Miwok, conversation with M. K. Anderson, and Paiute, to fire pottery (Gayton 1929; Liljeblad and Fowler 1990; Ron Goode, North Fork Mono, conversation with M. K. 1986). In addition, many Sierran groups cremated their dead Anderson, 1991). Tragically and ironically, many of the elders (Gifford 1955; Gould 1963; Kroeber 1925). Thus, firewood use interviewed had lost their homes to fire—including precious was substantial. Assuming a pre-contact average of 2,860 baskets, mortars and pestles (cracked from the fire intensi- settlements with five houses each (supra), and allowing, as a ties), and other valuable cultural items—because of fuel ac- guess, 10 kg (22 lb) of daily firewood use per household, Na- cumulations on adjacent public lands due to fire-suppression tive Americans would have burned some 143,000 kg (314,000 policies. Accounts of past burning to keep the brush down lb) of fuel each day. Annually, this would have amounted to are rich and varied: 52,195 metric tons (51,165 tons avoirdupois). Further assum- ing that 5,000–10,000 sites were occupied each year, the aver- My great aunt and mother talked about how the land age fuel consumption per settlement would have been roughly was burned. If there was brush, they’d burn in the pon- 5.8–11.5 metric tons (5.2–10.4 English tons). Some of the larger derosa pine and sugar pine areas. I remember there villages, with 300–500 members, might well have collected wasn’t the tall brush that there is now. It’s hopeless. 250 metric tons or more of firewood annually. Such quanti- They’ve let it go for so long. So when it does burn it goes ties not only would have reduced the fuels available to sus- and goes and kills the big trees. When they’d set the fires, tain natural fires, but also might have depleted supplies of it wouldn’t hurt the trees. firewood in some places sufficiently to require people to re- locate. They’d burn from the bottom of the slope. They would burn in the fall after rains. They would touch off any of the brush. It would burn some of the new needles off Which Land-Use Activities Had the Greatest but it wouldn’t burn way down through the duff like it Impact on Sierran Plant Communities? does with the controlled burning today. They wouldn’t The single most important reason mentioned by Native burn the whole area, but anywhere it needed it. (Nellie American elders when asked why their ancestors burned in
11. 197 Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts Williams, North Fork Mono, conversation with M. K. ever, if each pre-contact Indian household had burned only Anderson, 1991). 10 hectares (25 acres) per year, about 143,000 ha (353,000 acres) of the Sierran landscape could have been altered annually, Maria Lebrado used to burn the hills on her property. and many times more than this during the multiyear fire in- The white man sure ruined this country. It’s turned back tervals. Accurate estimates of the areal extent of indigenous to wilderness. In the old days there used to be lots more burning will require far more intensive studies than have yet game—deer, quail, gray squirrels, rabbits. They burned been undertaken. Detailed studies of late prehistoric and early to keep down the brush. The fires wouldn’t get away historic aboriginal populations in the Sierra Nevada are par- from you. It wouldn’t take all the timber like it would ticularly needed. now. Burns were started in October, November, or De- cember, not in January at the bottom of the slope. They How Were Selected Plant Species Affected by burned every year. The fires wouldn’t get up in the trees. Protoagricultural Intervention? There wasn’t enough vegetation to get up in the trees. The plants were widely spaced. It wouldn’t scorch ex- Native Americans in the Sierra Nevada in many cases selected cept a few trees. They never talked about burning in plant species that thrive under repeated disturbance. Cultural the giant sequoias. They used to burn the high country groups used a wide variety of plant species for many differ- in Yosemite and Crane Flat around 6,000 ft elevation. ent products, but they relied heavily on a small subset of the (Jim Rust, Southern Sierra Miwok, conversation with M. total Sierran flora to meet their major needs. The cultural use K. Anderson, 1989). categories that required continuous gathering of large amounts of plant parts are building construction, firewood, Clearly “burning to clear out the brush” was extremely im- basketry, cordage, and foods. The understanding, exploita- portant among native cultures. When analyzed, this purpose tion, and modification of vegetative or asexual reproduction was perhaps the most significant reason of all for burning. of plant species were extremely important to Indian subsis- Indians of the Sierra Nevada were very much aware of the tence economies. Vegetative reproductive structures have double-edged sword of fire—that it could be beneficial or evolved with environmental disturbance in the form of flood- harmful to plant resources. For example, Native Americans ing, fire, and small mammal and large mammal (grizzly bear, actively managed vegetation patterns with fire to prevent in- elk) activity, and human perturbations, therefore, frequently tense fires that would promote tree scorching, which would mimicked such natural disturbances. Multiplication and se- harm valuable plant resources such as black oaks (Anderson lection were often from clones. According to Sauer (1952), an 1993b). individual plant with strong vegetative reproductive mecha- A severe fire in a tribal territory would mean not only im- nisms might be divided and multiplied indefinitely. Vegeta- mediate loss of property, resources, and perhaps lives, but tive reproduction exploited by Native Americans is of six also disaster for the long-term well-being of a community. A major forms: offsets, tubers, stolons, perennial creeping root catastrophic forest fire of the kind witnessed during the last stocks, adventitious and epicormic shoots, and rhizomes. The several years, for example, could destroy hundreds or thou- new plant is an identical reconstitution of the parent rather sands of hectares of important game habitat and plant food than variant progeny (Sauer 1952). Native Americans gath- resources. If many of the foothill pines, black oaks, sugar pines, ered vegetative reproductive parts and progeny and main- and blue oaks were destroyed at important gathering sites, a tained the parent plant in situ. Other gathering strategies that substantial portion of the food supply would be lost. “Burn- ensured long-term, repetitive collection in the same areas were ing to keep the brush down” provided the environmental gathering of sexual reproductive parts with maintenance of context within which more localized burning could then be parent plant in situ and gathering of sexual reproductive parts done for specific cultural purposes. Frequent burning was the with some seed replacement. insurance policy against annihilation of important gathering and village sites. Indian Disturbance Regimes: Some Examples That there were large areas of impenetrable growth in the Basketry-Production Systems. The adaptive significance of Sierra Nevada in the middle to late 1800s is undeniable vegetative reproduction in shrubs has long been a major topic (Dudley 1896; Perlot 1985). Had the Indian burning patterns of inquiry by ecologists and evolutionary biologists (Keeley already been largely disrupted even before the arrival of the 1986; Naveh 1975; Wells 1969). Within the native flora of the cattlemen, gold miners, and earliest settlers? Was the native Sierra Nevada are numerous species that display adventitious population drastically reduced (because of exotic diseases), and epicormic sprouting capability (Kauffman and Martin and was the brush therefore more widespread than during 1990). All native groups in the Sierra Nevada burned and/or pre-contact times? Some scientists have argued that the popu- pruned areas in mixed conifer forests, riparian areas, oak lation of California’s Indians was not large enough and that woodlands, and chaparral to promote the growth of adventi- they were not technologically capable of setting huge por- tious shoots and epicormic branches of native shrubs such as tions of California on fire (Burcham 1959; Clar 1959). How- sourberry (Rhus trilobata), willows (Salix spp.), redbud (Cer-
12. 198 VOLUME II, CHAPTER 9 cis occidentalis), and hazelnut (Corylus cornuta var. californica) M. K. Anderson, 1991; Avis Punkin, North Fork Mono- (Fowler 1986; Gamble et al. 1979; McMillin 1963; Potts 1977; Miwok, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991). Clara Charlie, Chukchansi-Choinumni Yokuts, conversation Greens: Burning of herbage for better wild crops was re- with M. K. Anderson, 1990; Ruby Cordero, Chukchansi corded among the Chukchansi Yokuts; Western Mono; Yokuts-Sierra Miwok, conversation with M. K. Anderson, Southern, Central, and Northern Miwok (Aginsky 1943) 1991; Amy Rhoan, Paiute, conversation with M. K. Ander- to promote palatable growth, increase seed production, son, 1990). All these species are believed to have displayed extend the gathering tract, and keep greens collections such growth behavior long before human management. In areas free and open. For example, clover (Trifolium spp.) such cases, human management merely expanded the suit- patches were burned in Wukchumni Yokuts territory in able ecological conditions that favored such growth. Most fires October and November and in North Fork Mono terri- were set in the fall, after one or two rains, and they were set tory (Rosalie Bethel, North Fork Mono, conversation with frequently (one- to several-year intervals). These fires were M. K. Anderson, 1991; Hector Franco, Wukchumni ignited from the bottom of the slope and were of an unknown Yokuts, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1992). areal extent, but probably the cumulative acreage was sub- stantial given the density and dispersion of humans in the Mushrooms: Mushroom patches were burned by the West- Sierra and the fact that large amounts of young growth were ern Mono to improve quality and promote abundance. required for each village (Anderson 1993b). Species include Morchella elata, Peziza spp., Amanita spp., Basketry was a highly developed technology in the Sierra and Ramaria spp. (Goode 1992; Hazel Hutchins, Mono, Nevada, and the tradition is still maintained today. Histori- conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1992; Nellie Williams, cally, the use of baskets was so central to daily living that it North Fork Mono, conversation with M.K. Anderson, represented 50% of the plant material culture (excluding con- 1991; Dave Bowman and Ed Bowman, Wobonuch Mono, struction materials) of the sixty or so tribes in the state (Ander- conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991). son 1993a). One medium-sized cooking basket, for example, Bulbs, corms, and tubers: Areas were burned by the South- could take several thousand redbud first-year shoots to com- ern Sierra Miwok, Western Mono, and Northern Hill plete. The numbers of young shoots occurring “naturally” on Yokuts to reduce competitive shrubs and grasses, recycle wild shrubs are very few, justifying the need for frequent plant nutrients, heighten the size and quantity of under- management. Native Americans set fires in ways that per- ground swollen stems, and keep areas open to maintain petuated native shrub species having protected, subterranean these crops. Species included Perideridia spp., Sanicula plant organs, which allowed for subsequent, in situ develop- spp., Brodiaea spp., and Allium spp. (Baxley 1865; Lydia ment. After the fires were set, hundreds of thousands of Beecher, Mono, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991; first-year shoots of various native shrubs were harvested in Ruby Cordero, Chukchansi Yokuts-Miwok, conversation the following fall, winter, or early spring. Young growth was with M. K. Anderson, 1991; Ella McSwain, North Fork highly valued by weavers because it displayed such physi- Mono, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991). ological and morphological features as anthocyanins, uniform cell density, flexibility, straightness, absence of lateral branch- Seeds: Seed-collection sites were burned by the Western ing, and long length, which facilitated optimal construction Mono, Paiute, Maidu, Nisenan, Northern Hill Yokuts, of baskets. Additionally, young growth lacked insect or patho- and Sierra Miwok to eliminate insects and diseases, re- gen activity that would weaken basketry material (Anderson cycle nutrients, keep open areas within forests and dry 1991). montane meadows, eliminate weed competition, aug- ment seed production, and eliminate detritus of peren- Food-Production Systems. Leaves for greens, fruits, mush- nial grasses. Species included Astragalus bolanderi, rooms, and bulbs were the edible plant parts that were Lathyrus sulphureus, Pickeringia montana, Wyethia spp., managed for with fire in late summer to late fall by tribes Salvia columbariae, and Calandrinia ciliata (Driver and throughout the Sierra Nevada to maintain their quality and Massey 1957; Gayton 1948; Hudson 1901; Kroeber 1925; quantity. Anonymous elder, North Fork Mono, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991; Hector Franco, Wukchumni Fruits: Burning of chokecherries, manzanita berries, Yokuts, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991). strawberries, and elderberries has been recorded among the Maidu, Foothill Yokuts, Western Mono, and Miwok tribes to increase fruit production, thin dense shrub cano- Cordage-Production Systems. Cordage can be defined as pies, reduce insect activity by eliminating old wood “the twisting together of separate fiber strands into a single, (Jewell 1971, as quoted in Roper Wickstrom 1987; Lydia long twined string or rope” (Mathewson 1985). Making of Beecher, Mono, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991; string or cordage is perhaps the oldest fiber art in America Hector Franco, Wukchumni Yokuts, conversation with (Adovasio 1974). Native peoples probably brought cordage
13. 199 Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts technology with them when they first entered California. The bush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) and willow (Salix sp.) were most important cordage-fiber plants used by native peoples pruned for arrow-shaft material, elderberry (Sambucus in the Sierra Nevada were Indian hemp (Apocynum spp.) and mexicana) shrubs were coppiced for musical instruments, and milkweed (Asclepias spp.). These two genera contain herba- brush was piled on individual shrubs of maple, redbud, and ceous species with stems that are composed of excellent “bast” oak and set on fire to induce long shoots for basketry and fibers. These fibers were collected, extracted, and manufac- looped stirring sticks (Anderson 1993b). tured into many items, including nets for fishing, deer nets, rabbit nets, netting bags, tump lines, slings, flicker feather Population Level. Stands of bunchgrass (e.g., Muhlenbergia head bands, hair nets, feather capes, feather skirts, belts, cord rigens) for basketry, herbaceous plants for cordage (e.g., Apo- belts for women’s aprons, and bow strings. cynum cannabinum), edible plants for greens (e.g., Trifolium Herbaceous plants that contained desirable fiber were gath- spp.), seeds (e.g., Madia spp., Wyethia spp.), and corms, tu- ered primarily in the late fall or winter when the stalks had bers, and bulbs (e.g., Perideridia and Sanicula spp.) were set died back (Barrett and Gifford 1933). Cordage plants were afire to enhance quantity and quality, reduce plant competi- periodically burned in the fall to decrease accumulated dead tion, and keep surrounding vegetation from encroaching material, provide increased access for harvesting, allow (Anderson 1993b). Populations of blue dicks (Dichelostemma greater sunlight to the new growth, and recycle nutrients to capitatum) and yellow nut grass (Cyperus esculentus) were ir- the soil. Plants were reputed to grow straighter and taller rigated in Owens Valley by the Paiute (Lawton et al. 1976). when burned (Peri et al. 1982; Rosalie Bethel, Mono, conver- sation with M. K. Anderson, 1991; Hector Franco, Wukchumni Plant-Community Level. Vegetation dominated by foothill Yokuts, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991). Large quan- woodland or coniferous forests was managed for maximum tities of Indian hemp and milkweed were harvested to make complexity of the vertical structure to encourage a variety of different cultural items (table 9.2), suggesting that the cumu- plant species in the understory. Disturbance, in the form of lative acreage burned to maintain productive collection sites burning and digging, was frequent and of an intensity and was probably substantial. For example, a 12 m (40 ft) deer net scale to prevent monopolization of resources by one or a few made by the Sierra Miwok would require 2,134 m (7,000 ft) of species. string, or 35,000 plant stalks (Craig Bates, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1992). Landscape Level. Native Americans introduced burning to maximize plant-community diversity. Particularly important Native American Resource Management at Different was promoting pioneer stage and fire subclimax plant com- Levels of Biological Organization munities. “Burning to keep the brush down” was a maxim Horticultural techniques were applied at different levels of adhered to by all Sierran peoples. Burning expanded special biological organization. Thus, the ecological consequences of plant-community subtypes such as black oak–ponderosa pine, these techniques would register at the following scales: prolonged the life of dry meadows, and cleared out reed-choked marshlands (McCarthy 1993; Hector Franco, Organism Level. Individual plants were manipulated Wukchumni Yokuts, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1992). through spot burning and pruning to enhance production of Fire mosaics promoted an abundance of water in numerous a desired plant part. For example, single shrubs of button- springs and creeks (Duncan 1964; James Rust, Southern Si- TABLE 9.2 Quantities of cordage material (Apocynum and Asclepias spp.) gathered for various cultural items by Native Americans of the Sierra Nevada (adapted from Lindstrom 1992; Anderson 1993a). Total Stalks Cordage Gathered Tribe Cultural Item Use Dimensions Length (Number) Washoe and Gill net Fishing 1.6 mm 2-ply 30 m x 1.4 m x 38 mm mesh 3,665 m 60,110 Northern Paiute (1/16" 2-ply 100' x 4.5' x 1.5" mesh) (12,022 ft) Washoe and Bag net Fishing 1.6 mm 2-ply 0.75 m x 0.75 m x 0.75 m x 25 mm mesh 270 m 4,425 Northern Paiute (1/16" 2-ply 2.5' x 2.5' x 2.5' x 1" mesh) (885 ft) Washoe and A-frame Fishing 1.6 mm 2-ply 2.1 m sq. x 1.2 m (x 4 panels) x 25 mm mesh 2,405 m 39,450 Northern Paiute dip/lift net (1/16" 2-ply 7' sq. x 4' [x4 panels] x 1" mesh) (7,890 ft) Sierra Miwok Feather cape Ceremony 1.6 mm 2-ply 44.5 mm mesh 30 m 500 (1/16" 2-ply 1.75" mesh) (100 ft) Sierra Miwok Deer net Hunting 3.2 mm 2-ply 12.2 m x 1.8 m x 102 mm mesh 2,134 m 35,000 (1/8" 2-ply 40' x 6' x 4" mesh) (7,000 ft)
14. 200 VOLUME II, CHAPTER 9 erra Miwok, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1989). Burn- derstanding of the dynamics of fire and its ecological role; ing at higher elevations was for the expressed purpose of re- hence, those policies constituted a real threat to the very re- moving shrub and duff layers, promoting a more tightly sources they were intended to protect. Fire is now a widely assembled snowpack. This dense snowpack melted off more accepted management tool in conservation biology (National slowly, reducing flooding and causing ephemeral creeks and Research Council 1992). But prescribed-burning programs on streams to run longer in the summer (Jewell 1971). Strategies public lands adjacent to urban areas are hampered by increas- for maintaining ecosystem integrity included ing fire risk, threatening human safety and valuable prop- erty. Additionally, when prescribed-burning programs are • hand clearing and burning detritus that might alter mois- implemented, they are usually done with little or no under- ture and soil conditions—which would encourage a new standing of the former role of Native Americans in setting array of plant species to colonize fires and creating other kinds of human disturbances. In this light, some scientists now recognize that wildfires in the Si- • hand weeding and burning to maintain ecotones around erra Nevada often are more severe and larger than were the special plant-community types such as meadows wildland fires in aboriginal times and that, therefore, the wild- • not obstructing, but rather maintaining and encouraging land ecosystems are also at risk (Martin and Sapsis 1992). recurrent changes in water level and scouring along streams Most of the plants useful to Sierran tribes are highly shade and marshes intolerant and qualify as early- to mid-successional species. That these early stages were most useful for indigenous Once exotic herbaceous species had begun to spread into needs has been pointed out by previous studies (Lewis 1993; the Sierra Nevada, they were readily incorporated into the Reynolds 1959). Gaps or grassy openings were created, main- ethnobotanies of the tribes. For example, wild mustard (Bras- tained, or enlarged within diverse plant communities, result- sica spp.) leaves were consumed by the Maidu, Yokuts, and ing in many “patches” of plants in varying successional states. Tübatulabal (Duncan 1964; Gayton 1948; Latta 1977; Voegelin Human disturbance at gathering sites was a regular element 1938). Fillaree (Erodium cicutarium) greens were eaten by the of the system. For example, fire was used to maintain patches Maidu (Duncan 1964). Wild oat (Avena fatua and A. barbata) of deergrass (Muhlenbergia rigens) for basketry within mixed seeds were prized by the Sierra Miwok, Yokuts, and conifer forests and chaparral areas; patches of edible native Tübatulabal (Barrett and Gifford 1933; Gayton 1948; Latta grasses and forbs (Fragaria californica, Madia spp., Salvia 1977). Brome (Bromus rigidus) seeds were added to the Miwok columbariae) within oak woodlands and mixed coniferous for- diet (Barrett and Gifford 1933), and Echinochloa crusgalli and ests; and patches of edible bulbs, corms, and tubers (Perideridia Polypogon seeds were eaten by Tübatulabal (Voegelin 1938). spp., Sanicula spp.) in the dry montane meadows, open un- Tribes burned areas to promote the growth and abundance of derstories of coniferous forests, and openings in chaparral native plants for edible seeds and greens. After the introduc- (Anderson 1993b). The result was that plant diversity was tion of exotics, burning probably continued. Because many maximized. of these exotic species thrive after periodic burning, indig- The heterogeneity of ecological communities was expanded enous burning perhaps contributed to expansion of the range through indigenous manipulations. Mixed conifer forests and and distribution of these aliens. oak woodlands were often managed for maximum complex- ity of the vertical structure to encourage a variety of plant species in the understory. Thus, woodlands and forests often exhibited widely spaced trees, giving better light intercep- tion and ultimately leading to an increase in species diversity in an area (Huston 1994). Frequent burning recycled nutri- ECOLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES ents, destroyed insects and diseases, and promoted a lush O F R E M O V I N G N AT I V E understory vegetation that provided an important food sup- AMERICANS FROM TRADITIONAL ply for Sierran tribes. A variety of understory plant species ECONOMIC AND LAND- supported an abundant and diverse insect and small-mammal M A N AG E M E N T R O L E S population, providing a valuable food source to the California spot- There is a growing awareness that the decline of biodiversity ted owl (Verner et al. 1992). in the United States may be tied directly to past fire-suppres- Old growth in mixed conifer forests in the Sierra Nevada fea- sion policies of land-managing agencies (National Research tured large-diameter, healthy individuals, 12–18 m (40–60␣ ft) apart. Council 1992). New studies concerned with rare and endan- The open-growth architecture made these trees more drought tol- gered species in the Sierra Nevada (Boyd 1987; Verner et al. erant and disease and insect resistant than those of our overstocked 1992) are concluding that frequent fire is necessary to the forests today. Native grasses, promoted through burning, created a health and maintenance of habitat for certain endangered permeable forest soil surface that checked surface erosion. Soil biota. Fire-suppression policies on public lands were based fertility was enhanced by continuously decomposing feeder on a perception of fire as a destructive force without an un- roots. Downed logs and snags were left intact by light sur-
15. 201 Native American Land-Use Practices and Ecological Impacts face fires and supplied nutrients, wildlife habitat, and mois- storing and managing other rare and endangered plants in ture reservoirs (Martinez 1993). The tree plantations and the Sierra Nevada such as three-bracted onion (Allium tribrac- second-growth forests in many parts of the Sierra Nevada teatum) and Small’s southern clarkia (Clarkia australis). Al- today are structurally and biologically less diverse than natu- though we have no evidence that these species were used by ral forests under Native American burning regimes and con- Native Americans in the Sierra Nevada, we know that other tain impoverished faunas (cf. Mayer and Laudenslayer 1988; species of the same genus were gathered and managed. These Verner and Boss 1980). techniques may be transferable, across species of the same Ecologists hypothesize that plant communities subjected genus, and are worth investigating (table 9.3). For example, to intermediate levels of disturbance size, frequency, and in- the North Fork Mono formerly burned common Wyethia spp. tensity exhibit high levels of species diversity and high pro- to maintain seed production (Rosalie Bethel, North Fork ductivity (Connell 1978). The emerging subfield of “patch Mono, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1991). Hall’s wye- dynamics” in the discipline of plant ecology recognizes the thia (Wyethia elata) is uncommon, and El Dorado County mule key role of disturbances such as windstorms, lightning fires, ear (Wyethia reticulata) is endangered (Smith and Berg 1988). lava flows, and modern human interventions in directing the Both species occur in the Sierra Nevada in habitat types simi- successional patterns and evolution of plant populations lar to those of the more common species. As fire cycles are re- (Mooney and Godron 1983; Pickett and White 1985). It is stored to populations of these species, knowledge of Native proposed that the Native American role in creating these American objectives for management of common Wyethia spp. “patches” in the landscape was considerable, and in the ab- and how Indians changed the frequency and intensity of fires sence of native burning practices these patches are now un- may be integral to successful modern wildland management dergoing accelerated successional changes. and restoration of these less common species. Indigenous Knowledge and Rare and Endangered Plant Species Certain plants integral to traditional cultures in the Sierra Nevada are now on rare and endangered or uncommon spe- DISCUSSION, CONCLUSIONS, cies lists assembled by the California Native Plant Society. A N D R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S These include such species as Pringle’s yampah (Perideridia pringlei), Kaweah brodiaea (Brodiaea insignis), and coyote Comparative research on how natural resources were used, thistle (Eryngium vaseyi) (Zigmond 1981; Hector Franco, maintained, and influenced by different native groups in the Wukchumni Yokuts, conversation with M. K. Anderson, 1992). Sierra Nevada is useful for developing objectives and meth- The rare and endangered status of plant species is often at- odologies for managing, conserving, and restoring wildlands tributed to habitat fragmentation and habitat loss due to de- (Anderson 1993a; Gomez-Pompa and Kaus 1992). Manage- velopment. Another tack worth investigating is the role that ment of nature preserves and wilderness areas will have to indigenous use and management played in maintaining these involve continued human intervention. Land managers need plant populations. In the absence of these former human dis- to fully understand vegetation dynamics, including the role turbances, plant populations may have declined. of disturbances (Sierra Nevada Research Planning Team 1994). Cultural knowledge of native peoples may be useful in re- Native peoples have to be recognized as a contributor to the TABLE 9.3 Possible application of Native American use and management techniques for enhancement of uncommon, rare, or endangered plant species populations. Uncommon, Rare, or Other Species in Genus Management Endangered Species Known to Be Managed Tribe Part Used Use Techniques Allium tribracteatum Common Allium spp. Western Mono Bulb Food Tilling/burning (e.g., Allium validum) Clarkia australis Clarkia purpurea ssp. Central Sierra Seed Food Sowing/burning purpurea Miwok Perideridia parishii ssp. Perideridia bolanderi; P. Northern Hill Tuber Food Tilling/burning latifolia gairdneri; P. kelloggii; Yokuts; P. parishii Sierra Miwok; Western Mono Trifolium barbigerum var. Common Trifolium spp. Northern Hill Leaf Food Burning andrewsii Yokuts Wyethia elata and W. Wyethia helenioides; W. Western Mono Seed Food Burning reticulata mollis
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