Voices of Pawpaws and Persimmons

Contents: About the Collection | About the About Page | Tech

About the Collection

When I first began preliminary research for this project, I could not find a publicly accessible digital repository for oral histories about pawpaws or persimmons. In fact, many refer to pawpaws as the “forgotten fruit”. The interviewees highlighted in the collection unanimously agree that these fruits are still relatively underground. One of the reasons that pawpaws and persimmons are not well known is because of their short shelf-life. Pawpaws (asimina triloba) only have a harvesting period of about three weeks. Once ripe, they bruise easily and rot within a few days, which prevents them from being packaged and shipped outside of their region. They are elusive or unknown to many who are not connected to local farmer’s markets and cultivators.

American persimmons (diospyros virginiana) are only ripe when they drop to the ground, which the FDA has deemed unsafe, as they are contaminated with filth during their contact with the ground (Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, 2023). The Asian persimmon (diospyros kaki) can be picked while unripe and then ripen on the shelf, which makes some varieties of persimmons available to the public. American persimmons cannot be picked while unripe, and also spoil within a few days of ripening, as they are already in the process of rotting when ripe. So, how does one attempt to capture these two fruits for a digital archive?

This site originated as a digital oral history repository about pawpaws and persimmons. Folks from a myriad of backgrounds, who reside in Indiana and Kentucky (the native region of these fruits) have generously donated their stories about growing, using, and researching these two fruits. The repository has expanded to include images and objects of significance to the interviewees featured in the site. The objects highlighted in the archive were discussed in their oral histories, and are a visual representation of their relationship to pawpaws and persimmons, or they are representations of key components of their identity in general.

This collection was built for those who are interested in learning about the different ways pawpaws and persimmons are used in material culture. As you explore the collection, you’ll find that the oral histories highlight multiple perspectives and relationships to the fruits. Some of the interviewees are cultivators, some are faculty at Indiana University, and some are professionals who work with these fruits as part of their foodways-focused careers.

While the cultural significance of these fruits is a focus of the collection, the site was also created to be a place where cultivators and farmers can listen to stories about the growing, grafting, and cultivation processes that their peers utilize in their own efforts of cultivation. It is my hope that this collection would become a learning commons about native foodways. This site could also aid future researchers wanting to collect data on pawpaws and persimmons.

Land Acknowledgment

As we gather in this digital space to learn more about native foodways and communities, I would like for us to keep in mind that the ground at the focus of this collection is the ancestral land of the myaamiaki (Miami), Lënape (Delaware), saawanwa (Shawnee), kiikaapoa (Kickapoo), and Neshnabé/Bodwéwadmik (Potawatomi) peoples, and that they are the past, present, and future caretakers of this land.

Forced removal, cultural suppression, and genocide have had an impact on indigenous cultivation here in Indiana. Pawpaws and persimmons were once vital elements of the diet of indigenous people living in these areas. As a result of colonialism, now many farmers in the same geographical location are of European settler descent. This digital space was crafted with the hopes to illuminate the wisdom of those who interact with these fruits in their indigenous region, but it is just as necessary to illuminate the violence and white supremacy that is so closely tied to anything native in this land.

If you’d like to learn more about native land and its history in Indiana and IU, I’d recommend visiting IU libraries’ lib guide for land acknowledgment .

If you are interested in hearing more about native foodways, the Toasted Sister podcast and the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance are great resources.

About the creator

This digital archive was created by Madison Cissell, a graduate student studying folklore and library science at Indiana University. Feel free to contact Madison at madciss@iu.edu with any comments or suggestions about the archive.