Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners

by William W. Dunmire, Tierney Gail D., Gail D. Tierney

This book emphasizes prehistoric uses of plants in the Four Corners area, focusing on Mesa Verde National Park, Chaco Canyon, Canyon de Chelly, Aztec Ruins, Hovenweep, and other major sites of the region once occupied by the Navajo, Ute, Paiute, Hopi, and Apache peoples. Dunmire and Tierney are able to eloquently illustrate the importance of the people-plant relationship that has existed throughout the ages among Native peoples and how ancient traditional uses of these plants inform contemporary uses today. Through vignettes of background information drawn from lore and cultural traditions and interviews with tribal elders, Wild Plants and Native Peoples of the Four Corners describes uses for edible, medicinal, and dye plants, as well as plants used for making baskets, tools, and shelters. Complementing these essays are profiles of fifty new trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, and grasses common to traditional Native America.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Plants

320 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

Reviews

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good reference book, not to be read cover to cover at one sitting. Good for the area.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome. It's so informative and well researched. I especially like the table at the end. I appreciate so much that it exists

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really well written book with fascinating stories of plant use by ancient and current native peoples in the Four Corners area.

[Ryan Mishap · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dry, sure, but an interesting foray into ethnobotany--a fairly interesting field.

[Megan]

Aided my road trip through the southwest.