Traditional Foods in the Four Corners

USU Extension

Utah Canyon Country Article

Published Papers

Science Moab:  

What drew you to peaches specifically?

Wytsalucy: 

I didn’t fully understand the importance of the peach tree when I started the research, but there has been curiosity in my mind as I remembered some of the things that my dad would talk about. When he first brought up that we grew peaches, I was so intrigued, like a lot of people that don’t know they exist. The first time that he took me to Shonto he showed me where they had their farms and where his dad and mom planted their crops and garden. The fruit trees were in the back alongside where this canyon wall was, and when we go there, the only thing that’s there now is Russian olive trees. We now have another distant cousin that’s utilizing the land and they’ve been using it for livestock grazing, so very different from what it was. Even  people in the community, as I started to search and look for the peach trees themselves, said they remembered peach trees long ago but there are none now. I started looking for literature to see what historical information there is on the fruit trees grown in the southwest regions by Native American tribes, and came to find a recently published document produced for the Hopi Nation where they had large and vast orchards. In that publication, they mentioned that less than 2% of the original orchards or the fruit trees remained. I started using it in my early research, and it became an adventure to be able to understand my family history: where I come from and where my ancestors roamed and worked.

Science Moab: 

How are they able to survive in this relatively harsh environment?

Wytsalucy:  

These peaches are more drought tolerant. Traditionally, they have been planted in these sites where they would be collecting only annual precipitation. And any water that would run off from mesa tops or canyon walls would ideally flood into these orchard spaces. And the same thing took place with the garden spaces, since the gardens were often planted around the orchards. But I worked with multiple tribes, the Hopi, Zuni, and Navajo, to do this research, and each tribe had unique practices of their own. We have a lot of clay soils in the area, and they seem to be readily adaptable to that, as well as the harsher temperature changes on a daily basis. The elders that traditionally cared for them mentioned that they never irrigated them. There was complete trust in what Heavenly Father was going to offer for any given season. And they produced and they became an abundant food resource. These trees have been planted in closed off areas or areas where the wind is not so harsh, and they have a lot of radiating heat coming off of the canyon walls where they’re planted in. That helps buffer the air temperature to help prevent frost occurrences killing all the flowers.

Science Moab:  

What does your research entail?

Wytsalucy:  

I got support in searching for these trees for the seed sources. We wanted to see if any of their genetics were unique, so we did genetic studies. We also look at the history of how these are managed, talk to the elders, and document their stories. As we started studying this tree, we started to look at how we can preserve all of this history in the midst of this and be a resource to give back. The last thing that we did was do a full nutrient study on the peaches, and we actually compared them to the USDA standard food nutrition label for fresh peaches. We found out that they’re higher in calcium, they have more fiber, and they’re higher in fats and calories. And there were a few things that weren’t changed, like sugar and potassium. We saw that these are a bit more of a benefit to the diet.

Science Moab:  

What future do you want for traditional foods in this region?

Wytsalucy:  

After all the genetic work, we’ve learned that these peaches are genetically different from others, so we want to try and keep that genetic resource alive and thriving, not diluted. We have seen some of the seeds that we’ve collected have been cross pollinated with modern cultivars, and we can see that in their genetic makeup. I also want to make it an abundant food resource in our communities again, like they once were. I want to protect the growers that currently still have them. They are in their elder age, and this is their way of living and what they live off of. I want to make sure that as these trees are distributed, they’re used in an appropriate manner that is culturally respectful to our communities. Ultimately, we’d love to have orchard spaces that would be a space for educating our youth and for community gatherings, and then eventually giving back that seed to them with resources on how to grow them so that one day, we’ll have full orchards again.