The Prairie Had a Pantry

Everyone thinks the prairie was empty.

It wasn’t.

It was a pantry, a garden, a survival kit built by nature and tended by the Potawatomi. They didn’t plant monocrops; they planted systems.

Juneberries ripened when colds and respiratory sicknesses arrived.

Elderberry boosted immunity long before we had pharmacies.

Chokecherries fermented into energy-rich winter stores.

Spicebush soothed fever, grief, and stomachs alike.

Every fruit had a purpose.

Every shrub was medicine.

Every plant was a tool for multi-season survival.

Imagine 40 acres of those species grown today not as museum pieces, but as commercial crops.

You don’t need pesticides.

You don’t need irrigation.

You definitely don’t need global seed companies.

The prairie’s pantry is still here.

It’s waiting for someone to reopen it.

FAX is doing that with science, rail access, modern power systems, and a hell of a lot of respect.

This is native agriculture turned into a new economic engine.