subsist on the food available in a region, as game, fish, berries.
1913  The Indians . . . live off the land during the summer.
1914  The Indians have proved that one can live off the country, but it keeps them busy hunting and fishing from one year's end to another, ever following the movements of the game.
1944  At times they were near starvation, for they lived "off the country" and were entirely dependent on the goodwill of the Indians. . . .
1966  Eskimos in the area [Boothia Peninsula] live off the land.