80. How the Pioneers Lived Off the Land

Written by Amy

How the Pioneers Lived Off the Land The Earth Keepers Podcast with Amy Dempster from Following Hawks Season 3 of The Earth Keepers podcast continues as we explore how the Mormon pioneers lived off the land in the desolate Utah Territory.

In this season, I'm taking us on a journey to explore what happens when an entire society of people lose their connection to the only land they’ve ever known.

And I'll be exploring this question by following just one branch of my family tree back through the Mormon Pioneer days in Utah and Idaho and then back to my ancestors who left Sweden for America.

In this episode I share about the Word of Wisdom and how it applied to the pioneer's diets, the importance of fermented beverages in indigenous diets around the world, and the different obstacles the pioneers faced as they lived off the land in the late 1800s.

If you've done any genealogy research into your own family origins, want to know more about how organized religion influenced your ancestor's beliefs, are curious about how plant medicine and shamanic ritual was integrated into early religion, and want some ideas about how you can reconnect with the land in a place and time your ancestors wouldn't recognize, you're going to love this season of The Earth Keepers podcast.

Here's what I share in this episode:

The Scandinavian influences still found in Utah today
A story about how my ancestors gifted me a flour mill
What the Word of Wisdom is in the Mormon church
Why early Mormon pioneers were making so much wine
How the act of fermentation creates a very nutrient dense beverage
What early pioneer kitchens looked like
Why it's unlikely the pioneers had the skills they needed to live on the frontier
How the back to the land movement of the 1960s and 70s was similar to the pioneers of the 1800s
What excited people in the early days of the Industrial Revolution
The conditions that likely led to thousands of immigrants leaving their homelands to come to America
How the pioneers began to grow their own food
Why the Mormons believed the quality of their homes and gardens reflected their worthiness for heaven
Seasonal eating patterns of the pioneers
The importance of preservation to the lives of the pioneers
How incredible it was that the pioneers were able to hold an enormous feast just two years after arriving in Utah
How food will connect us back to our ancestral roots
Whether or not its possible to create an interdependent community that doesn't become a cult
Why true self-sufficiency isn't really possible
How simple peasant food can be especially delicious