Indians of the Secotan Tribe cooking a stew of corn, meat, and fish. (engraving by Theodor de Bry, 1590) enlarge

They live by hunting, game being plentiful in that country, and on indian corn, of which they always have a good crop; consequently, they have never suffered from famine. (Jacques Marquette, 1674)

The Illinois had a mixed subsistence economy based on both foraging and food production. Foraging involves the hunting, fishing, and the gathering of wild plants and animals. Food production involves the growing of domesticated food resources through agriculture. Among the Illinois, subsistence activities were divided based on sex; women were responsible for agriculture and gathering, while men did the hunting and fishing. The Illinois subsistence economy began to change in the early 1700s, when members of the Kaskaskia tribe started planting wheat and raising chickens and pigs that they obtained from their French neighbors.