Pumpkin History and a Recipe

Did you know that pumpkins are native to the americas. For those of you familiar with the Lewis and Clark expedition, some of the tribes they came across while traveling up the Missouri river what is now the North Dakota area, grew what they call the three sisters (corn, beans, squash). Most people think that the native americans were mostly hunter/gatherers. The Hidatsa and Mandan tribes that Lewis and Clark met on the Missouri however, were agricultural based and used the flooded lands next to the river as their agricultural lands. If you want to read more about the native pumpkins of America, here is a link that I found interesting.
http://www.nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/1075/hidatsa-pumpkin-food-diary



Also here is a recipe for what would have been a typical dish for these indians.

1 4-poundSugar pumpkin; (up to 5-pounds)

1 Mediumonion; chopped

1 tsdried sage; Crushed

1/4 tsPepper

1/2 tsDry mustard

1 cwild rice; Cooked

3 Eggs; beaten

2 tsSalt

1 lbGround buffalo; venison

2 tbRendered fat

Hidatsa Stuffed Sugar Pumpkin Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Cut the top off the pumpkin and remove strings and seeds. Reserve seeds for another use. Prick the cavity with a fork and rub with 1 teaspoon salt and the mustard. Heat fat in a large skillet, add meat and onion and saute over medium-high heat until browned. Off the heat, stir in wild rice, eggs, remaining salt, sage and pepper. Stuff pumpkin with the meat mixture. Place 1/2" water in the bottom of a shallow baking pan. Put pumpkin in the pan and bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until tender. Add more water to the pan as neccessary to avoid sticking. To serve, cut pumpkin into wedges, giving each person pumpkin and stuffing. Source: Spirit of the Harvest