What The Sahaptin People Taught Me About Health

Before I went to medical school, I had the opportunity to study Anthropology, under Dr. Eugene Hunn, while a student at the University of Washington.
Dr. Hunn received his doctoral degree after researching a North American tribe known as the "Sahaptins" and is the author of the book, "Nch'i wana, The Big River". (the greater Sahaptin tribe can be found with bands across Oregon reaching as far as Washington and Idaho).
They lived on the Columbia River, and ate a mostly plant-based diet that included plenty of fresh berries (mostly huckelberries), nuts, seeds, and vegetables, like wild Camas (Camassia quamash), and wild celeries — known by their latin name as "Lomatium kous," (the Lomatium are a family of plants researched extensively for their immune supportive properties).
They supplemented this diet with wild salmon and wild game; that was either eaten fresh, or, like their vegetables, stored by being smoked and dried.
What I learned from Dr. Hunn, was that most gatherers and hunters lived in temperate zones, and ate a diet that was 90 percent plant-based with animal products making up only 10 percent of their overall diet. I also learned that this is probably the earliest diet humans had, and that this is probably the diet our bodies were evolved to eat.
Often I hear theories from people about what constituted the Paleolithic diet, but these theories are rarely supported by environmental anthropologist today, like Eugene Hunn. Instead, these diets draw on a myth of the caveman from earlier anthropologist theories that have since been dismissed by the majority of modern achademics. These supposed "Cave Man"diets often contain a great deal of animal products and are frankly not healthful. The truth is, with the exception of those communities that lived in harsh terrains (like Greenland), few tribes ate such large quantities of meat, but instead relied on their women folk to gather the majority of food that was eaten. A diet that was usually mostly vegan with meat acting as a type of condiment.
Hunting was labor intensive, and required a great deal of preparation and skill; making plant collection the bulk of most peoples diets.
Like other gatherers and hunters, the Sahaptin enjoyed excellent health, even without modern medical interventions.
The Sahaptin people lived much longer than their European counterparts (often decades longer). And are believed to have made contact with Louis and Clark, in the winter of 1805, when they crossed the Columbia river, and stayed in an area that later became Astoria Oregon. They are credited with keeping the Louis and Clark expedition alive during their harsh stay there.
They were called the "salmon eaters," and it was noted by the expedition that they lived to a very ripe old age, and their burial sites contained few child graves. They kept busy, and worked hard, had close extended families, and spent much of their time outdoors engaged in food collection and storage.
Dr Hunn's course, which was titled "Environmental Anthropology," was amongst the most interesting courses I took during my studies at the University of Washington. And the lessons I learned about health, and the proper diet for the human body, stayed with me long after I graduated; as I continued my studies in medical school and beyond. I often draw on these lessons when I discuss health and diet with my students and patients or develop diets to promote my patients health.