transmission of their culture. However, even with these data limitations there remain
important insights and contributions associated with evaluating sustainability from
the perspective of the Native American population, foremost is the role of culture.
2.7.1 Indigenous Relationship with the Commons
In spite of the light ecological footprints left by the numerous tribes inhabiting the
North American continent, Indigenous populations were able to live and maintain
their cultures within a thriving ecosystem. Though it is not possible to state that the
Native inhabitants did not alter or augment their environment, their recorded cultural
practices at the time of the Plymouth colony support the view that they lived in
harmony with their ecological circumstances. This is most readily seen through the
accounts of abundance of the commodities that the English colonizers observed and
recorded, where the commodities were natural products that could be shipped to
Europe and sold profitably to provide regular income for colonists. Of related
interest is that the cost of these natural resources, as relayed in colonial documents,
included only the expense of hunting, cultivating, harvesting, and extracting, as well
as transport, there was no cost attributable for degradation or regeneration.
Native populations, in contrast to Europeans, appeared to live within purposely
created resource constraints. European records indicated that in spite of the resources
available, these societies stored insufficient amounts of food for the cold winter
season, preferring to endure starvation for periods. This appeared irrational to the
Europeans and was one of many lines of arguments used to justify the perception of
the Indigenous population’s way of life was inferior. However, contrary to the
Europeans interpretation, the practice of rationed fasting increased the hardiness of
Natives and to their ability to literally weather the difficulties of the change in
season. Additionally, consciously driven, limited food storage prior to the onset of
winter appeared to constrain population growth, thereby limiting the longer-term
human impact on natural resources and maintaining their accessibility to meet
communal and ecosystem needs (Cronon 1983).
In short, the evidence is consistent with the view that Native populations used
environmental resources sparingly despite their seeming abundance (Calloway
1997; Cronon 1983). This is easily seen in the descriptions of the wealth of resource
availability in early explorer and colonial narratives. Differences regarding the
cultural approach to the management of resources between the Indigenous and
European populations are clear when one considers the resource depletion that
took place, in the form of reductions in the availability of timber and animal
resources within a few decades of European colonial settlement.
Specific to agricultural practices, Indigenous agricultural practices were not as
intensive as the European planting and harvesting cycles. However, the mixed crop
planting appeared to have benefits to both the soil and harvest. The seeming lack of
attention to planting appeared to mimic the conscious ecological relationship
between Indigenous communities and the New England ecological system. Native
peoples rotated their settlements in relation to the seasons, maintaining a minimal
22
M. Venkatesan
important insights and contributions associated with evaluating sustainability from
the perspective of the Native American population, foremost is the role of culture.
2.7.1 Indigenous Relationship with the Commons
In spite of the light ecological footprints left by the numerous tribes inhabiting the
North American continent, Indigenous populations were able to live and maintain
their cultures within a thriving ecosystem. Though it is not possible to state that the
Native inhabitants did not alter or augment their environment, their recorded cultural
practices at the time of the Plymouth colony support the view that they lived in
harmony with their ecological circumstances. This is most readily seen through the
accounts of abundance of the commodities that the English colonizers observed and
recorded, where the commodities were natural products that could be shipped to
Europe and sold profitably to provide regular income for colonists. Of related
interest is that the cost of these natural resources, as relayed in colonial documents,
included only the expense of hunting, cultivating, harvesting, and extracting, as well
as transport, there was no cost attributable for degradation or regeneration.
Native populations, in contrast to Europeans, appeared to live within purposely
created resource constraints. European records indicated that in spite of the resources
available, these societies stored insufficient amounts of food for the cold winter
season, preferring to endure starvation for periods. This appeared irrational to the
Europeans and was one of many lines of arguments used to justify the perception of
the Indigenous population’s way of life was inferior. However, contrary to the
Europeans interpretation, the practice of rationed fasting increased the hardiness of
Natives and to their ability to literally weather the difficulties of the change in
season. Additionally, consciously driven, limited food storage prior to the onset of
winter appeared to constrain population growth, thereby limiting the longer-term
human impact on natural resources and maintaining their accessibility to meet
communal and ecosystem needs (Cronon 1983).
In short, the evidence is consistent with the view that Native populations used
environmental resources sparingly despite their seeming abundance (Calloway
1997; Cronon 1983). This is easily seen in the descriptions of the wealth of resource
availability in early explorer and colonial narratives. Differences regarding the
cultural approach to the management of resources between the Indigenous and
European populations are clear when one considers the resource depletion that
took place, in the form of reductions in the availability of timber and animal
resources within a few decades of European colonial settlement.
Specific to agricultural practices, Indigenous agricultural practices were not as
intensive as the European planting and harvesting cycles. However, the mixed crop
planting appeared to have benefits to both the soil and harvest. The seeming lack of
attention to planting appeared to mimic the conscious ecological relationship
between Indigenous communities and the New England ecological system. Native
peoples rotated their settlements in relation to the seasons, maintaining a minimal
22
M. Venkatesan