Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America Chapter Summary & Analysis - Chapters 4-6, Firestorm, The Tree in American History, Hunting Summary

Chapters 4-6, Firestorm, The Tree in American History, Hunting Summary and Analysis

In Chapter 4, Weatherford opens by discussing the intimate knowledge many Native American nations had of the North American forests. They used wood often, contrary to popular imagery. Even the Navajo used lumber to build long hogans for themselves. Many Native Americans were responsible for the huge forests in North America in part because they had engaged for centuries in controlled burns of the forests. Native Americans regularly cleared out the forests with hard burns in order to clear out insects that brought diseases during the summer. As a result of destroying underbrush, the larger trees could flourish and spread. Further, because the underbrush was gone, random fires could not destroy entire forests because there was no reliable way for the fire to move from tree to tree. The Native American maintenance of the forest was so successful that around A.D. 1000 we know that some buffalo lived in woods....
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