Secrets of the ‘lost crops’ revealed where bison roam
Research from Washington University in St. Louis helps flesh out the origin story for the so-called “lost crops” of the Midwest and Northeast. These plants that may have fed as many Indigenous people as maize, but until the 1930s had been lost to history. Natalie Mueller, assistant professor of archaeology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, shares evidence that bison were “co-creators” — along with Indigenous peoples — of landscapes of disturbance that gave rise to greater diversity and more agricultural opportunities.
History of events behind Columbus Day would likely sadden those who support “freedom and justice for all”
While many Americans view Columbus Day as the recognition of cultural heritage, a number of American Indians, indigenous people, and U.S. citizens hold a vastly different view. “It is estimated that 85 percent of the American Indian population was wiped out in the 150 years following the arrival of Columbus,” says Dana Klar, director of the Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. Today, the state of Minnesota does not celebrate Columbus Day and in South Dakota, a state with a large number of American Indians and reservations, Columbus Day is known as Native American Day. “It is time for this nation as a whole to follow suit,” Klar says.