Tending the Wild

Tending the Wild. Using, Managing and Respecting Life. , One horticultural technique the Paiutes handed down through millennia was "coppicing", a form of pruning that encouraged the re-growth of young branches that were straight, long, and flexible - properties they valued highly for basketry, arrow-making, and a myriad of other material objects they produced. , By coppicing native shrubs and bushes, the Paiutes were mimicking natural disturbances such as fire, flooding, and browsing by wildlife - disturbances the plants had evolved with and actually required to complete their life cycles., The Paiutes continue these practices today, producing a variety of baskets and other cultural items renowned for their beauty and construction. In doing so doing, they preserve not just an art form, but also a timeless tradition of using, managing, and respecting the natural materials so important to their ways of life., [Insert]: "The practice of inducing shrubs and trees to produce long, straight shoots is ancient. We have no direct evidence of how far back in time this type of management was practiced...but there is evidence...that suggests indigenous peoples were...coppicing...for young growth for at least several millennia before the arrival of Euro-Americans". - Dr. M. Kat Anderson from her book "Tending the Wild". , [Caption]: Kaibab Paiute Tribal member Angie Bulletts weaves a traditional cradle board from native willow branches.