We all came from somewhere else. Even Native Alabamians—the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Alabamas (“clearers of the thicket”), and Creeks—emigrated from some pre-Columbian home to settle here. And there wasn’t much here to eat—at least not of the health food variety. Sure, the woods and streams teemed with deer, mussels, and fishes. But fruits and veggies were scarce. Blackberries, persimmons, hickory nuts, and an assortment of tiny grains (like the most unpleasant-sounding sumpweed) were all that natives could muster from those thickets. So they planted corn, squashes, pumpkins, and several types of beans, all of which originated in Mexico. Later, enslaved Africans smuggled black-eyed peas, okra, and sweet potatoes from their own continent, thus rounding out the Alabama smorgasbord.
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