At The Water's Edge

At The Water's Edge. A Timeline of Inhabitation. , How Did the Odawa Survive? , When the Odawa were living on the waterfront in the Straits what was their life like? What did they eat? What did they do? And wouldn't it be wonderful if we could ascertain what they thought? Here are the few answers we know., Once the lake had settled to its current level, families were walking on the same beach we enjoy. This makes it possible to find old village sites along today's shoreline. An archeological dig in the 1960s identified a 2,000-year-old community and produced a wide array of plant and animal remains revealing that the people utilized every possible resource as it came into season. Fishing, hunting, and food collecting provided subsistence. Agriculture was minimal, undoubtedly because of the severe climate and poor soil, but wild plants were harvested in season., The Odawa had a precise relationship with their environment. They knew exactly where to fish, hunt and collect edible plants. They also grew food, such as corn and squash. Gardens were maintained and maple sugar was produced. Food was prepared and stored for the long, hard winter months of the Great Lakes. Without proper food preparation, families would starve., Fishing was the main source of protein for early Odawa and corn the main carbohydrate. Game such as deer, bear, beavers and fowl supplemented diets. Berries were harvested and maple sugar made in the spring. Surplus corn and maple sugar were traded to other tribes in the Great Lakes, in exchange for wild rice and other meats. The Odawa traded with other tribal communities and this exchange helped all survive., Fish were the staple of the Odawa survival. Fish are rich in vitamins, minerals, and healthy oils making them a life-sustaining resource. Capturing near-shore fish required simple tools: spears during spawning and nets for summer. Sturgeon, a very large fish, spawned in the very early spring, just as the people were facing starvation after a long winter, while whitefish spawned in the fall, just as the people were stockpiling food for winter. Fish were very abundant. The variety of species of fish and their stable population numbers made life here possible.