Pine Cones

[panamint_patty]

What is a Pinecone?
There are male cones which are small and female cones which are much, much larger!

[camel]

The Traditional Pinyon Pine Nut Picking of the Navajo
There are lots of pinyons in DVNP. It's not legal to pick them, but there are other areas near DVNP with pinyons. I need to try this sometime.

[shotgunmary]

Why do so many native Americans seem so smug? They act like they know what they're talking about, but it's obvious that they only vaguely know much at all. It's as if they think that just because they are native Americans that they are automatically experts on nature and history when they actually know very little. Am I being unfair or do others get what I'm saying?

[wildrose]

ShotgunMary: I know what you mean. Many Native Americans I have met are fantastic people, but I've come across a few that you might call smug or arrogant. Not sure what's smug or arrogant about the lady in the pine nut video. She seems pretty down to earth to me.

[shotgunmary]

wildrose: Excuse me. I agree that this lady isn't too bad, but something about her just reminded me of other native americans I've encountered. They just had this weird attitude of superiority even though they were clearly ignorant and smug. I found that irritating and so maybe I'm a little too quick to detect it as a result of those experiences.

[sandman]

I think part of the problem is that sometimes people assume that Native Americans just know a lot about nature. The truth is that most don't. But some like to act like they do and they get a little smug in the process.

[wildrose]

Pinyon Pine Identification
This is correct for the pinyons which grow in Colorado, but a different species is found here in California.

[panamint_patty]

DIGGER PINE
http://www.ssplants.us/PLANTS/DIGGER/index.html
blackturtle.us says: " Although it is usually asserted that this species of pine grows at elevations between sea level and 4000 feet, lots of specimens can be observed at elevations up to 6200 feet along the PCT near Chimney Peak."
He also says: "Some consider the name digger pine inappropriate, but it is the most widely known common name for this species of pine."

[shadylady]

Okay, so maybe "digger" rhymes with the n-word and maybe the local Indians actually did dig for pine nuts beneath the digger pines, but there are limits. Anyone who is offended by the name digger pine is truly a simpleminded dimwit just looking for an excuse to complain!

[KissMyTail]

I think part of the problem is that sometimes people assume that Native Americans just know a lot about nature. The truth is that most don't. But some like to act like they do and they get a little smug in the process.

The word that should be used here is arrogant. They're not just smug, they're arrogant. A lot of people believe in the myth of the noble savage and although Indians (or Native Americans or North American aborigines or whatever you want to call them) had survival skills, their standard of living and their level of knowledge was primitive at best. Most were dead by the age of forty and many tribes were nothing more than groups of brutal savages leading an extremely self-centered existence. I could go on, but I think you get the idea.