Native beans! Indigenous food update from my garden

These unusually large beans are known commercially as “Fremont Beans,” and are reported to have been re-introduced by the Worden family of central Utah (and Colorado) from 40 beans taken from an ancient ceramic vessel within an ancient dwelling in the 1960s.

This event does not appear to have been documented and I can’t find a primary source for this story.

I purchased these beans last spring at Liberty Heights Fresh which are commercially distributed by 21st Century Bean (also available from Hells Backbone Grill, although my note about this at the end of my post.

I planted some of the beans last spring and cooked the others.

I have been unable to determine the factual history of the bean. The story about rejuvenation from an ancient archaeological context has been told many times for many varieties of corn, beans, melons, etc. It’s a common story but rarely verifiable.

A 1977 study points out that seed viability deteriorates rapidly for domesticated species as they have been selected for high germination rates following planting, generally within a few years of their harvest. Seed viability for domesticated species tends to be measured in decades, not centuries.

This same study recounts several stories of the rejuvenation of ancient native seeds from around the American Southwest, but all with dubious origin stories. More likely is that native agricultural plants have been curated by native peoples, possibly reintroduced into archaeological context through packrats or people leaving offerings. Maybe, who knows.

Regardless of the origin story, the Fremont Beans that I planted appear to be the same variety identified as P22-009, a Runner Bean (Phaseolus coccineus, Fabaceae), curated by Native Seeds/SEARCH seed bank. The identified origin of P22-009 is “Utah.”

I have sent Native Seeds/SEARCH  request for more information about the origin of P22-009.

I will be posting more of my pondering and experiences with this bean. #beangeek

The Four Corner’s potato

Alastair Lee Bitsóí, Diné, holds a harvest of Four Corners Potatoes in a Diné Basket at his farm in the Navajo Nation. Photo Credit: Alastair Bitsóí

Local Indigenous foods: the Four Corner’s potato (Solanum jamesii).

Most of the world’s potatoes are descendants of a single South American native potato species, Solanum tuberosum, but Utah’s native potato is a different species.

Within the last 100-150 years, the Four Corner’s potato has largely been forgotten with few people (Indigenous and Non-Indigenous) recalling its abundance and importance.

That has changed within the last few years; the Four Corner’s potato is being revived as a native food.

Researchers from the University of Utah, primarily headed by Lisbeth Louderback, identified potato starch residue preserved on 10,000-year-old artifacts in the Escalante region of Utah.

That discovery prompted researchers to look for, and find, patches of wild Four Corner’s potato growing near the archaeolgocial site.

The Four Corners potato plant grows well in the high desert of New Mexico and it grows much more sparsely in Utah, often near archaeological sites; this, along with reduced genetic diversity measured within the Utah potato population, suggest that potatoes were brought to the Escalante region by ancient people- likely from what is now New Mexico.

In modern times, Indigenous farmers and researchers have been sharing their experiences with growing, harvesting, and preparing the native potato.

Cynthia Wilson and Alastair Lee Bitsóí, both Diné, have publicly discussed their revival work of the Four Corner’s potato.

Alastair is relearning how to grow the plant on his farm and he continues the practice of redistribution.

Cynthia has talked about her ancestors’ methods to prepare the food, including boiling the potato with bentonite clay- a traditional Diné method to reduce bitterness.

Researchers have called the Four Corner’s potato the “fourth sister” or “lost sister” as an indication of its importance as a native food. This is of course a reference to the three sisters- corn, beans, and squash.

Collaboration on the Four Corner’s potato continues.

External Links and Sources:

• Earliest Use of Wild Potato
• Ancient Trade Routes
• Indigenous Journalism
• Ancient Potato in a Changing Climate
• Repatriating the Four Corners Potato

The old Diamond Lil's Steakhouse

Diamond Lil's, April 2005. Note "Home Maid"

An old photo of Diamond Lil's. A steakhouse at 1528 W. North Temple. It was destroyed by fire in 2021. I took this photo in 2015.

Here is a short history excerpted from a 2009 Intermountain Catholic article:

In November 1969, Jim Pietramali and Garth Campbell opened Diamond Lil’s doors for business at 1528 West North Temple. The original building was a modest home, which was remodeled using old barn lumber and logs from pioneer cabins, some of which are 100 to 150 years old.

The seating capacity was 32 people in about 1,000 square feet. Today [2009] the seating capacity is 500. The original kitchen was about the size of a large walk-in closet.

Today [2009] Diamond Lil’s is owned by Pete Funaro. He started working at Diamond Lil’s in 1970 for his uncle, Jim Pietramali. Pietramali, 87, still works for Diamond Lil’s.

“A lot of customers kept coming back and we became the premier steak house in Salt Lake City,” said Funaro. “We are an independent Utah’s own company. The seating allows for parties that can seat as many as 275 people at one time.

In 1973, they started adding on to Diamond Lil’s. They used only logs from Utah cabins.

Funaro also has his own wholesale pasta business, Funaro’s Perfect Pasta. Diamond Lil’s serves Funaro’s pasta. All of his pasta was used during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.

Urban Calm by Peter Wiarda

Framed print of a photograph from Peter Wiarda’s new book “Urban Calm.”

This is my favorite photograph from Peter Wiarda’s new book “Urban Calm.” This is photo is the view from Walker Center Parking at 160 S. Regent St. (2020). It looks south on Main Street, towards 300 South.

In this image I see an abstract view of modern archaeology of Salt Lake City’s built environment (and the real archaeology that is also subsurface).

The oldest building in this image is the Karrick Block, built in 1887. Surprisingly, the oldest building is also the most colorful (red) building in the photograph, which reminds me that the historic black and white photographs that preserve the past do not portray a fully perfect image of the past.

The Karrick Block has an interesting preservation story, which I will need to post about separately.

Also in this photograph are:

• The Lollin Block, 1894
• Clift Building, 1919
• American Towers, 1982
• One Utah Center, 1991
• 222 S Main building, 2009
• Federal Courthouse (Orrin G. Hatch/the Borg Cube), 2014

Peter Wiarda's print with my identification of buildings

Notably, there is 5-decade gap of buildings in this image. Part of that is simply that buildings of this age are not in view. But the other part is that downtown SLC had a lull in construction during the Great Depression, WWII, and the post-WWII suburban build-up. There are notable exceptions (e.g. mid-century modern Ken Garff Building 1955, LDS Church Office Building 1973), but in general this image portrays an accurate pattern of downtown SLC’s history.

The American Towers building is also an interesting component, Built in 1982, it represents an effort to draw individuals back to living in downtown. But interestingly, American Towers was initially an adult only living arrangement- so not an effort to bring families with children to downtown.

So, beyond the visual beauty of the photograph I also see a full historical spectrum of SLC.

Peter Wiarda has many other fantastic photos of SLC in his Urban Calm book.

And SLUG magazine has a nice article about Peter’s project. 

Be sure to check out his website where you can order your own copy of the book. www.peterwiarda.com