Tobacco and American Indians
Tobacco has a long and complex history among American Indian communities, dating back to around 1500 B.C.E. in Mesoamerica, where early cultivation began. By 630 C.E., tobacco was also being grown in the Southwest, with tribes like the Pima adopting scientific farming methods such as crop rotation. In contrast, neighboring tribes like the Tohono O'odham used a simpler approach to planting. Interestingly, smoking tobacco was not widespread among the Southwest Indians, who believed it caused negative health effects, and the practice was largely limited to older men and some women. The introduction of tobacco to other regions, such as Florida, occurred through Spanish explorers, who encountered native peoples using various forms of the plant. By the 18th century, tobacco cultivation had expanded significantly among tribes such as the Cherokee, Choctaw, and Chickasaw, becoming a major agricultural enterprise. The knowledge and practices surrounding tobacco farming were eventually shared with European settlers, influencing agricultural methods in the region. Today, while the cultural significance of tobacco remains, the historical context reveals a deep and varied relationship between American Indian communities and this important plant.
Subject Terms
Tobacco and American Indians
Tribes affected: Pantribal, but especially Southeast and Southwest tribes
Significance: Tobacco was an important recreational and ceremonial substance for many Indian tribes
As early as 1500 b.c.e., the Tamaulipas farmers of Mesoamerica (Central America) cultivated tobacco. In the Southwest, tobacco was grown as early as 630 c.e., though the tobacco grown by eastern Indians was not introduced until after the Spanish conquest. The Southwest Pima tribe approached tobacco farming scientifically, cultivating seed crops and rotating planting sites. Their neighbors, the Tohono O’odham, simply planted all the seed from a previous year. Only old men and some women smoked, as both the Pima and Tohono O’odham believed that tobacco inflicted a cough and made one lethargic and less resistant to cold. Southwest Indians did not chew tobacco. They still grow a small amount of tobacco today.
Exploring Florida in 1539, John Hawkins reported that the Indians were smoking a dried herb. This tobacco was apparently introduced to the Florida Indians by Spanish explorers. In the piedmont and the Cumberland Plateau, Algonquin farmers raised tobacco plants three feet high, dried the leaves over a fire, and ground them to smoke in pipes. They eventually adopted a milder tobacco from the West Indies, introduced into Virginia by John Rolfe. In the north, the explorer Jacques Cartier reported that the Indians around present-day Montreal were growing and using tobacco. By the eighteenth century, tobacco cultivation had become a major enterprise among the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Creek, and Huron Indians. Much of the agricultural process of growing tobacco was ultimately learned from the Indians by white agricultural interests.