“When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us.”– Arapaho
LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – More than 100 years ago the land comprising California was home to over 100 distinct tribal groups of Indians who spoke different languages, and held different customs.
Many of the tribal groups had a common food staple, that of acorns. The Indians who lived in what is now Lake County, the Pomo, Miwok, Wappo, Patwin and Yuki were hunter-gatherers.
Much of the land of California and Lake County was bountiful and gave richly of waterfowl, great herds of elk and deer, and an abundance of fish in the rivers and streams.
Fall was, then, as it is now, a time of thanks for this abundance. Historical writer and archaeologist Robert Heizer indicated that there were over 500 varieties of flora and fauna garnered by the California Indians.
Conservation land practices were in place then, so as to assure that the rich quality and quantities of these resources would continue. The landscape was often control-burned to keep the understory of the oak woodlands cleared.
The fall season was a harvest time; it was a time to gather acorns. There was a cadenced rhythm to the season for generations.
In California we have about 20 different species of oaks which produce edible acorns. According to Heizer, one healthy oak tree was capable of netting 500 to 1,000 pounds of acorns in a good fall season.
Tanoak was considered a premier, tasty variety. Acorns were frequently gathered by climbing the oak and hitting the branches with a pole.
After a shower of acorns fell to earth, nets and burden baskets were put to use then to collect the tan nuggets. The acorns were often left to dry prior to shelling. The drying process usually took a few weeks.
Acorns provided bread, mush and more. One ounce of acorn meal contains about 140 calories, 9 or more grams of fat, about 6 percent protein, some calcium and iron among other nutrients.
To begin the acorn meal process a keen eye was needed to gather only the acorns with no insect holes or rot. Then, acorns were ground up with a mortar and pestle.
Some women used basket hoppers to keep the acorn meal from spilling while they pounded and ground the nuts. A sand bowl could be devised, by a stream, for the next step which was leaching.
The leaching process involved the pouring of water over the meal to rid it of bitter tannins. After the leaching process the meal could be cooked into a variety of products, such as soup or mush.
The Pomo Indians were expert basket weavers and cooked the mush inside a basket through the use of hot rocks. The rocks were stirred frequently to keep the basket and meal from burning.
For an in-depth look at the process of acorn preparation view this excellent UC Berkeley video below.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.