American Indians

This post is from my blog Mae's Real Stories. Since I was describing our lunch, I decided to post it here on the food blog too.

The picture above shows an American Indian yarn picture, made with pieces of yarn. Maybe Alice and Miriam will make some yarn pictures some time.

Yesterday at the Museum of the American Indian on the Mall in Washington, D.C. we saw many beautiful Indian art and craft works, clothing, and pottery. Miriam and Alice listened to stories on TV sets in a large room. Around this room are smaller rooms showing the history and ideas of many different Indian tribes.




Miriam and Alice looked at some models of Indian boats that were out in the lobby. Then we ate Indian food in the museum cafe. The grownups tried Indian tacos, buffalo stew, purple potato salad (from South America), a trout sandwich, and Indian pudding made from cornmeal. Miriam and Alice's French Fries were really sort of Indian food too.

The Indians of North and South America were the first people in the world to grow and eat potatoes, corn, tomatoes, red & green peppers, chocolate, vanilla, and some kinds of beans and squash. The North American Indians were the first to hunt and eat buffalo meat, because the herds of buffalo lived on the Great Plains here. Indians fished for trout and also hunted other animals. When Europeans came to North and South America, they showed Indians how to grow crops from Europe such as wheat flour for Indian fry bread, sugar for Indian puddings, and fruit like apples and peaches. In the cafe, the foods represent modern Indian dishes from North and South America, including ingredients that once came from both America and Europe.