The Three Sisters

Corn, Bean and Squash - a.k.a. The Three Sisters

I was surprised to find out that corn and beans were not native to this country. Since my family has farmed the same ground for over 150 years, I guess I have always assumed that corn and beans were something that was natural in this country.

I liked learning about why the three plants were planted together and that they were intertwined with each other. Farmers will often rotate fields, plant beans one year and the next plant corn to help keep the soil balanced. From everything I’ve learned in this course so far about American Indians believing in a cycle of life and giving and receiving from the land, I wasn’t surprised to find out that the Native tribes thought that these three plants were magical. I think it is amazing that they were able to use the plants in such a way that each one served a purpose and helped the other two somehow. The corn grew tall for the beans to have something to climb and the beans helped with the nitrogen in the soil for the corn to grow better and the squash kept the weeds away because of their large leaves close to the ground. It makes me think of the garden that we have at my farm in the summer. We have a friend who is from Mexico that plants it and he uses these same techniques. He knows exactly what plant to put where and which ones will help the others grow better. It’s an impressive concept and I enjoyed learning more about it, not to mention the bonus of eating all the great food my professor brought to class to inspire us to learn more about the “Three Sisters”.

http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/IroquoisVillage/sistersone.html
http://americanfood.about.com/od/nativeamericanfoods/a/3sis.htm