Meskwaki Tribe: One With Nature
How are native Iowa plants used by Meskwaki people?
Plants play a significant role in the daily life of the Meskwaki Tribe. From food, to mats and a variety of other purposes. Knowledge about uses for natural resources were learned by the Meskwaki Tribe as they went about their daily routines. Check it out!
Transcript
[Abby Brown] We are not on the settlement today but everything that's growing around here is also growing on the settlement and all of those plants have specific purposes in your daily lives.
[Stephanie Snow] I'm looking around and I see food right there.
[Abby] What is it?
[Storm Seymour] Food source.
[Stephanie] Yeah there's milkweed right over there and we eat that.
(A green plant grows in the center of long grass. It has scoop-like leaves growing off of the stem like steps. There are four leaves at each step, one on each side of the stem.)
[Storm] We make soup out of it.
[Stephanie] The cattails are good for a lot of different uses. Those are, we could make mats that we would cover our wickiups with. The top part you know the brown corn dog looking thing. Actually you can open that up and eat that. It is like a cucumber inside.
[Abby] And you do!
[Stephanie] Well, it's harder to find places to actually harvest because water is contaminated everywhere.
[Abby] Oh, I see.
[Announcer] Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by the following supporters.
(text on screen Find Iowa, The Coons Foundation, Pella, Gilchrist Foundation)
(text on screen Iowa PBS Education)