426 Indigenous Agriculture and the Hidden Science of Native Foodways

Ben Franklin's World

Liz Covart

Earlyrepublic, History, Benfranklin, Society & Culture, Warforindependence, Earlyamericanrepublic, Earlyamericanhistory, Education, Colonialamerica, Americanrevolution, Ushistory, Benjaminfranklin

4.6 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 18 November 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

As Thanksgiving approaches, many Americans are gathering to reflect on gratitude, family—and of course—food. It's the time of year when we may think about the so-called "First Thanksgiving" and imagine scenes of Pilgrims and Native peoples gathering in Massachusetts to share in the bounty of their fall harvests. But how much do we really know about the food systems and agricultural knowledge of Indigenous peoples of North America? In what ways were the Wampanoag people able to contribute to this harvest celebration—and what have we gotten wrong about their story? Michael Wise, Associate Professor of History at the University of North Texas and author of Native Foods: Agriculture, Indigeneity, and Settler Colonialism in American History, joins us to challenge four persistent myths about Indigenous food practices. Discover how Native communities shaped and stewarded the land and its agriculture long before European colonists arrived—and why this history matters more than we might think. Michael’s Website | Book |Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/426 EPISODE OUTLINE00:00:00 Introduction00:01:10 Episode Introduction00:03:43 Guest Introduction00:04:30 Myths about Indigenous Agriculture00:11:29 Indigenous and European Gender Roles00:15:56 Wampanoag Agriculture00:17:29 Wampanoag Corn Cultivation00:25:59 Wampanoag Cuisine00:27:52 Indigenous Disspossession in New England00:32:58 Cherokee Agriculture00:37:13 The Cherokee Hunter Myth00:40:53 The Origin of the Myths about Native American Agriculture00:45:40 Future Projects00:47:13 Closing Thoughts & Resources RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES🎧 Episode 131: Thomas Jefferson's Empire of Liberty🎧 Episode 189: The Little Ice Age🎧 Episode 278: Polygamy: An Early American History🎧 Episode 290: The World of the Wampanoag, Pt 1🎧 Episode 291: The World of the Wampanoag, Pt 2🎧 Episode 323: American Expansion and the Political Economy of Plunder SUPPORT OUR WORK🎁 Make a Donation to Ben Franklin’s World REQUEST A TOPIC📨 Topic Request Form📫 [email protected] WHEN YOU'RE READY🗞️ BFW Gazette Newsletter👩‍💻 BFW Listener Community🌍 The History Explorers Club LISTEN 🎧🍎 Apple Podcasts 💚 Spotify 🎶 Amazon Music🛜 Pandora CONNECT🦋 Liz on Bluesky👩‍💻 Liz on LinkedIn🛜 Liz’s Website SAY THANKS💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts💚 Leave a rating on Spotify*Book links are affiliate links. Every purchase supports the podcast. = Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:25.9	business.gov.com.uk slash recruit. Eligibility criteria apply. What's something you learned in
0:31.5	history class that you feel like wasn't the whole truth? Better yet, what's something you didn't learn
0:37.3	at all that was omitted completely?
0:39.8	That's what I like to call redacted history.
0:42.7	My name is Andre White, the host of the Redacted History Podcast,
0:46.9	the place where histories forgotten events, heroes, and villains get their story told,
0:52.0	one episode at a time.
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0:58.8	Stream the Redacted History Podcasts on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever else you get your podcast.
1:05.5	You're listening to an Airwave Media Podcast.
1:09.3	Porn is a tropical grass.
1:11.4	Basically over centuries of native seed selection,
1:14.7	native farmers were able to adapt corn
1:17.1	into a wide variety of cultivars
1:19.5	that suited the particular climatic conditions
1:23.6	for wherever they were planting it.
1:25.9	The Wampanogs in particular
1:27.3	were faced with this problem of developing corn
	...

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