Anyone relying on meat from wild game has to either have a protected hunting ground or has to move with the game. The Plains Indians were totally hunter gatherers and nomads, and were probably the best light cavalry in the history of the World. Eastern Woodland Indian villages were all temporary, and building a house with logs in a primeval forest is not a big deal for people that know how, even without metal tools. The three sisters were a supplement to their diet, and the ground corn would keep the winter. I don't believe there was a surplus. I live in Pittsburgh, and there was a sizableof Mingo village not too far away from me called Shannopin's town until 1741 when they moved on. Interestingly, there was never a native settlement at the confluence of the Monongehela and Allegheny Rivers into the Ohio, even though it's rich bottom land perfect for farming. It was probably too easy to attack a village there unless you had a huge brick Vauban style fortress with a lot of cannons around it.