Chapter 2. Insect Foods of North American Indigenous Populations ...

Chapter 27 of 68 9/20/2012 1:34 PMSaturniidae). Madsen and Kirkman (1988) describe a special, but recurring, situation in which the return ratefrom collection of grasshoppers washed ashore at Great Salt Lake was at least 16 times that of any local seedresource. Madsen (1989) provides data suggesting that the return rates from Mormon crickets collected by handexceeded those from all local plant resources and compared favorably with those from small and large gameanimals. It is likely that return rates from Mormon crickets collected during the large, organized drives describedby early observors would have far exceeded those that can be obtained by hand-collecting. Simms (1984),although he makes no mention of edible insects, provides useful information on the kilocalories returned per hourof work for various Great Basin collected food resources, both plant and animal.4. Insects, when dried, were storable for use in the future and were an important winter food.Grasshoppers, Mormon crickets, shore fly pupae, pandora moth caterpillars, cicadas and ants were among theinsects stored (e.g., Dixon 1905, Elliott 1909, Muir 1911, Steward 1941, Davis 1965, and Downs 1966, amongothers).5. Insects were important items of trade among tribes (e.g., Dixon 1905, Steward 1933, J. Davis 1961),with grasshoppers, pandora caterpillars and shore fly pupae among the insects most widely traded. Accounts ofIndian attempts to trade their edible insect preparations to Whites, however, are frequently humorous (see, forexample, Bidwell 1890). Disputes concerning insect collecting rights sometimes arose among Indian tribes orindividual families. Steward (1933: 245-246), for example, cites Muir to the effect that families and tribesclaimed sections of the shore at Mono Lake where the windrows of shore fly pupae washed up and disputesarose over encroachment into a neighbor's territory. Regarding pandora caterpillars, Miller and Hutchinson(1928: 158-160) related that "...the Monos, lured by the tempting collecting grounds, had crossed the range [theSierra Nevada] and gathered caterpillars from areas that were considered exclusive worming grounds of anothertribe. This caused a serious break in diplomatic relations between the two tribes and very nearly resulted in agreat Pe-ag'gie war."Conversely to most reports, Heizer (1978) shows only three recorded ethnographic instances of insectstraded as food items from one tribe to another in California.Essig's (1931) discussion is of particular interest because it is the first to provide the specific identity(scientific names) of many of the insects that were, or probably were, used as food in western North America.His information is incorporated under the appropriate insect orders below. Essig (1934), as did Davis (1962) andothers later, extolled the intimate knowledge of the Indians about natural history, including the life cycles andhabits of insects. He says (page 181):Indians probably knew a great deal more about certain facts concerning the natural instincts andhabits of insects than the white race will ever know. The aborigines of California literally livedwith their tiny six-legged brothers and liked them in more ways than one. Apparently there wereno feelings of rivalry on the part of the red men as is so often expressed to-day by theentomological economists who class insects as man's greatest rivals on this earth. The Indiansaccepted nature as it was without carrying out any great schemes to replace the forests and theprairies with cultivated fields and great cities.Finally, although our discussion here is limited to food, insects were much more than food in the lives ofthe Indians. Hitchcock (1962) has discussed a number of aspects in Indian culture, including the spiritual powerof insects; insects as omens and symbols; their use in medicine, magic and witchcraft; influence on the growthand development of children; use of products for various purposes such as ornaments, artwork, dyes, not tomention honey and beeswax; domestication of insects of various kinds; use as food (briefly); and the Indian viewof insect control. Hitchcock, as did Essig before him, suggests that the American Indian had a much moreintimate view of himself in relation to nature than we do and insects were part of the world around him. Indiansin general did not regard insects as pests in the same manner that we do. This was partly because the Indianeconomy was such that insects did not make such recognizable demands on it and partly because of their spiritualand other importance. A point made by both Hitchcock and Essig is that, in general, those groups that made themost use of insects or insect products had great knowledge about the biology and identification of their insects, aprinciple that we will see applies to indigenous people in other continents as well.DeFoliart (1991) listed more than 70 species of insects known or presumed to have been used as food byNorth American tribes. Included were representatives of 12 insect orders and 28 families. DeFoliart (1994)described a number of insect foods of the American Indians and incidents showing how early whites reacted tothem. The author concluded: "As might be expected from our European cultural heritage, some early Americanwhites looked with open disgust at the insect foods of the American Indians. It is interesting, though, that sooften . . . . these cross-cultural encounters relative to food seemed dominated by feelings of mutual tolerance,