What are the core practices of native american farming?
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Historically, I would guess:
1) Organic agricultural practices (this was pre-industrial, prior to the advent of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, so all gardening was organic until recently).
2) Sustainability (balancing human needs and nature's needs). The tribes that farmed one spot continuously had to protect the soil with proper cultivation practices or the fertility would drop. Those that were "slash/burn" farmers let the soil recover after they found a new plot at the end of the season. Even the mobile hunter/gatherers who "farmed" by tending wild crops didn't drain the soil fertility because they moved on quickly, allowing it to recover.
3) Full utilization. Resources were scarce and difficult to obtain, so the Native Americans found ways to utilize as many of the plant parts as possible (food, clothing, medicine, tools, etc.). Little was left unused.
4) A Land Ethic that often considered humans and nature to be entwined into a inter-dependent, common web, where each was required to fulfill their respective roles and responsibilities.
All I can think of... Good luck!
Each tribe had different agricultural practices. So you may want to look at specific tribal websites. You can do this by going to google and typing in: (tribe) tribal website
Ex: apache tribal website
Some tribes grew wild rice, some grew corn, others helped the production of roots.
One agricultural practice I know if is pretty awesome.
----/````/----/````/ Okay so I drew a ghetto picture there using the computer. Some tribal people would do this:
They would plant their crops on the upper version of the picture. In the lower portion they would have water. This would allow the sunlight to reflect off the water, it would provide heat and nourishment. The water would also allow the plants to drink from the bottom so they didn't need watered. It also provided a natural barrier to bugs etc..
Also burning. Controlled wildfires were often started. This would help the natural environemnt and the production of certain vegitation.
Native agricultural practices were very advanced.
I am a Native woman myself.
Take Care.
Native American or Early American? Not many Native American tribes were strictly farmers at least not in the Great Plains, they were more or less nomadic.
Early Americans maximized the use of available farm land by planting compatible plants, those that don't inhibit each other and yet support each other. Corn grown along side squash or pumpkins is the best example.
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