Enrique Salmon’s “Eating the Landscape” – A Book Review by Amanda Leavitt, MA Gastronomy

Enrique Salmon’s “Eating the Landscape” – A Book Review by Amanda Leavitt, MA Gastronomy

Enrique Salmón begins “Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience” by arguing that “eating a landscape is more than the act of eating”(Salmón 2012, 8). He elaborates on this, stating that eating is both a political and cultural act. Through this book, he demonstrates the link between Indigenous foodways and “an understanding of environmental stewardship”(Salmón 2012, np).

The book is divided thematically into ten chapters, each focused on a different indigenous farmer, with the theme of resiliency and the importance of culture interwoven. In every chapter, Salmón provides his personal experience on the farm and conversations he had while conducting his research. In researching while teaching, Salmón demonstrates not only his assertion but also his students’ perspective which mirrors how any outsider might view Indigenous food practices. This unique combination of insight gives the reader a well-rounded view of Salmón’s argument. 

Salmón’s position is strengthened by his proximity to his sources. While he provides numerous images of the environment and the people, he also provides first-hand accounts from his own family to depict the generational importance of food and the environment to indigenous farmers. In the first chapter, Salmón writes about conversations with his elders, who spent their lives practicing what today is referred to as sustainable farming. This chapter is where Salmón first refers to “kinship to the plants”(Salmón 2012, 2). While eating can be merely a means of survival to some, Salmón says that by changing our perspective on food, we can achieve prosperity in “humanity’s food and environmental future”(Salmón 2012, 11).

In the second chapter, Salmón speaks of his time in Chihuahua, Mexico, and the importance of “cultural histories”(Salmón 2012, 30). He provides examples of indigenous stories that explain the arrival of the predominance of different foods and food practices of the Rarámuri people. Again he emphasizes the link between culture and agricultural practices – if the Rarámuri keep their culture alive, the environment will flourish. 

Salmón then travels to Pojoaque Pueblo, which Salmón offers as an example of an indigenous community striving to maintain tradition in an ever-changing, technology-obsessed world. He describes the town as one that “refused to die”(Salmón 2012, 46). He writes about his conversation with Emigdio Ballon, an indigenous man who believes agriculture means “raising medicine for the community” for “both the soul and body”(Salmón 2012, 42). This conversation reinforces Salmón’s assertion: Indigenous agricultural practices are essential to preserving culture. 

In the fourth chapter, Salmón introduces Eric Polingyouma from the Colorado Plateau. At this point in the book, Salmón dives into the spiritual and traditional components of agriculture. Polingyouma is of the Hopi tribe, who “recognize the impermanence of nature”(Salmón 2012, 52). He mentions Polingyouma’s shrines on the farm that “pay homage and honor to the land and sky”(Salmón 2012, 48). Through practices like dry land farming and alternative irrigation practices, the Hopi can raise their traditional foods. Salmón also speaks of the link between celestial phases and agricultural practices for some Hopi people, as a way to ensure a prosperous harvest. 

Salmón follows this chapter with one about the Sonoran Desert, and Felipe Molina. In introducing Molina, Salmón intends to fortify the link between culture and agricultural practices. Molina is a Yaquí deer singer, deer songs being “linguistic portals” to mystical places (Salmón 2012, 70). Culturally, artists like these deer singers are essential to the “preservation of biocultural diversity”(Salmón 2012, 71). Salmón also introduces the concept of ethnobiology and the art of the metaphor in Indigenous communities; he states that “metaphors are central to daily discourse”, and that understanding language precedes understanding behavior and how a group of people operates in their landscape (Salmón 2012, 73).

Navigating once more to the Colorado Plateau, Salmón uses the sixth chapter to highlight how even the most unlikely of environments can reap a good harvest. He also speaks to the dwindling participation among the newer generations in agriculture. He presents the idea of “resilience thinking”, which reassures the community that changes are normal, and with the help of up-and-coming organizations, culture, and tradition will be preserved. At the heart of this chapter is the importance of language and community. He ends this chapter with the Salt Song Trail, whose singers provide “a way of being with a landscape”(Salmón 2012, 104); culture is essential in responsible, effective, and prosperous farming for indigenous communities.

While in the previous chapter, Salmón spoke about language and culture, in the seventh chapter, he elaborates on the importance of storytelling. In covering a brief history of Europeans in New Mexico, he emphasizes how crucial the preservation of land practices is.

Salmón focuses on the Seri tribe in the eighth chapter, who are a prime example of resilience and sustainability. He highlights the necessity, and later art, of basketry. For Efrain, a Seri man, basketry represents “his culture’s ability to creatively survive all the known and unknown forces”(Salmón 2012, 126). Following this chapter, Salmón continues the conversation around resilience, speaking of “foods grown in a place for generations”(Salmón 2012, 150). He highlights the work of Renewing America’s Food Traditions, an organization focused on preserving indigenous foods and ways of life. As the industrialized and modern world eclipses tradition, Salmón highlights the ways indigenous communities are striving to preserve their culture.

Salmón ends the book as he began it, with personal anecdotes about his upbringing. He concludes with a call to action to the reader, imploring them to contemplate what it would take for all individuals to understand the environmental impact on agriculture. While this book does an excellent job of providing diverse examples of different tribes, opportunities for further study could be a focus on one tribe or one method of farming. He also writes a fair amount about the way practices have changed or disappeared in the modern world, offering another opportunity to explore one particular agricultural approach and how it has changed over time.

“Eating the Landscape” provides an effective argument that Indigenous food practices go hand-in-hand with a thorough understanding and respect for the environment. The way this book is written gives enough insight into different facets of Indigenous agriculture and cultural practices, while also providing support to his concise argument: indigenous foodways and environmental stewardship are inextricably linked. 

Salmón Enrique. Eating the Landscape American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2012.