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Show How many of the plants in your yard or neighborhood do you know the names of? The Goshute people of northwestern Utah knew almost all of the plants in their homeland. They knew which plants were good for food or could be used for medicine. The Goshutes did not live in a place with a lot of food. Knowing about all of these plants helped the Goshutes survive. The Goshutes knew which plants had edible roots, leaves, seeds, or stems. They knew when plants would be ready to eat and where to find them. Some foods, like pine nuts, could be stored for the difficult winter months. The Goshutes knew twelve different kinds of berries on their land. Headaches, burns, and other sickness could be healed with plants found in the Goshute homeland. Parents and grandparents taught their families the secrets of these important plants. The Goshute people did not keep horses or hunt large game very often. They added meat like rabbit and other small animals to the many different plants they ate. Rabbits were hunted in a process called a "drive." The success of rabbit drives and their knowledge of plants kept the Goshutes healthy. Goshute Botany The Northwestern Band of the Sho-shone lived in the northeastern cor-ner of Utah. Trap-pers and traders often visited the area. The trap-pers and traders brought beautiful beads with them. The Shoshones traded furs and other supplies for the beads. Trade beads can be made of glass, metal, shell, and bone. The Shoshones use colorful beads to decorate clothing and bags. They group the beads together into geometric designs and borders. Some Shosho-nes make pictures that look like flowers or animals with beads. Sometimes Shoshones wear clothes with beaded roses to show that they belong to the Shoshone tribe. A young Shoshone girl or boy learns bead-working skills from an older relative. These skills are still passed on this way today. Modern Shoshone buy their beads and supplies at a craft store, but the pat-terns they make have been passed down through fami-lies from long ago. Shoshone Beadwork Molly McCurdy with Her Winnowing Baskets Shoshone Baby Shoes Rois Alex Pacheco's Beadwork U TA H ' S I N D I A N S U TA H ' S I N D I A N S 36 |