• Many Indian tribes were avid gardeners who grew their own food. They used a number of garden tools that generally have the same name and function that they do today, but the materials were different. Rather than steel and aluminum, they adapted what they had on hand or were easily able to acquire.
  
  

Digging Stick

• Indians used digging sticks to dig holes for seeding. Native Americans used an actual stick, or limb from a tree, that was up to four feet long and at least an inch thick. One end of the stick featured an angled point to better make holes for seeds.
  
  

Hoe

• Hoes were a common gardening tool, made a variety of ways. The handle of the hoe was again a stick or limb up to four feet long and at least one inch in diameter, but hoes could feature different attachments. Some Indians used bones for the hoe blade, namely scapulas from deer, bison or turkeys. Others used clam shells, including half-shells of large mussels. They attached the blade to the hoe with sinew from an animal or with cords.
  
  

Rake

• Deer antlers made for ideal rakes. Again, a large stick or limb would serve as the handle; the antlers were tied to one end of the stick with cord.
  
  

Tongs

• Tongs were another Indian gardening tool, used mainly for picking fruit or other harvests. They made tongs by splitting a stick vertically down its shaft and pinching the two sides of the stick together.