{"id":12648,"date":"2023-10-09T12:41:35","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T16:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/?p=12648"},"modified":"2023-10-31T11:49:56","modified_gmt":"2023-10-31T15:49:56","slug":"the-three-sisters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/the-three-sisters\/","title":{"rendered":"The Three Sisters"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by Declan Murphy<\/span><\/p>\n

Edited by Shianne Liang<\/span><\/p>\n

Designed by Kiritika Rana<\/span><\/p>\n

Published by Kiritika Rana<\/span><\/p>\n

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Squash, corn and climbing beans are known as \u201cThe Three Sisters,\u201d and they have ruled agriculture in Canada since before there was a \u201cCanada\u201d. Today, let\u2019s appreciate these lovely siblings, as they continue to be great food for autumn.<\/span><\/p>\n

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All across North America, corn, beans and squash were staples of Indigenous agricultural practice and central to many of their traditional foods. Together, these three foods provide carbs, protein and vitamins. As well, they create amino acids that allow humans to thrive on a plant-based diet if hunting seasons were sparse, which make them incredibly complimentary and echoes the traditional stories of their origins.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the legends of the Haudenosaunee (a confederacy of six First Nations: the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca and Tuscarora), the \u201cThree Sisters\u201d were the granddaughters of <\/span>Sky Woman, the First Woman, who built Turtle Island<\/span><\/a>. When their mother, the child of Sky Woman, was buried in the earth that her mother had created, the Three Sisters were born.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey buried their mother and from her head grew <\/span>o:nenhste<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>osah\u00e8:ta<\/span><\/i>, <\/span>onon\u2019\u00f3nsera<\/span><\/i> (corn, beans and squash); they are called <\/span>Tionhnh\u00e9hkwen ne ne \u00e1hsen nikontate\u2019k\u00e9n:\u2019a<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 \u2013 sustainers of life.\u201d (<\/span>Kanehsatake Voices<\/span><\/a>, 2017: 14)<\/span><\/p>\n

Each sister was very different from the others – one was tall and had yellow hair, one wore all yellow and ran all over the place, and the other who wore green was very shy and could barely crawl on her own. Despite their differences, they shared sisterly love for each other and possessed individual characteristics the others needed. Together, they survived and thrived.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Three Sisters were: Corn, with her yellow hair; Squash in her bright yellow dress; and Beans, who needed to rely on the strength of her sister Corn to get off of the ground.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Three Sisters don\u2019t just compliment each other nutritionally, but also function as a sophisticated symbiotic crop grouping. The corn provides a \u201cbean pole\u201d for the climbing beans, while the beans protect the corn from harsh weather and supply a good deal of rich nitrogen back into the soil. Lastly, the squash, which is spiny, protects all of the sisters from hungry animals, and provides shade with its large leaves to keep the soil moist. When grown together in clusters, the Three Sisters combine to provide water, food, shelter and support for each other, and are greater than the sum of their parts, just like the sisters in the legend.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Today, many gardeners plant \u201cThree Sisters Gardens,\u201d recognizing the wisdom and sustainability of this system, as well as celebrating the utility and lovely flavour of these three plants. It makes better use of water and actually reduces the amount of labour the plants require in order to produce.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019d like to grow your own Three Sisters patch, give it a try next spring! Mix compost into a fertile plot, and make a small hill, then plant the corn first, followed by the climbing beans, and lastly the squash. You can even include a fourth sister somewhere nearby – a locally indigenous flowering plant to attract more pollinators.<\/span><\/p>\n

This method of agriculture is called \u201ccompanion planting,\u201d and it has survived via heirloom seeds and oral tradition for centuries in the Americas. It may be different from the organized rows of divided plants that you see in a lot of gardens, but the results will be worth the effort!<\/span><\/p>\n

By far the most common dish to make with these crops is Three Sisters Stew\/Soup. Though recipes vary widely between different groups or families, they all involve beans, corn, and squash. Often onions and other vegetables and seasonings are added, and simmered until ready to eat and share.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a recipe you can try!<\/span><\/a> Enjoy!<\/span><\/p>\n

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Sources:<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

American Farm Bureau. (2016.) <\/span>The Three Sisters<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Anon. (2020.) <\/span>What the story of the Three Sisters teaches us about farming – The Globe and Mail<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Anon. (n.d.) <\/span>Three Sisters (agriculture) – Wikipedia<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Boeckmann, C. (2023.) <\/span>Plant a Three Sisters Garden: Corn, Beans, and Squash | The Old Farmer’s Almanac<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Braun, S. (2006) Image: <\/span>The three sisters planting technique: Beans \u2026 | Flickr<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Canada Food Guide. (n.d.) <\/span>Three Sisters soup (corn, bean and squash) – Canada’s Food Guide<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

First Nations.org (n.d.) <\/span>Three Sisters Soup | First Nations Development Institute<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

FTNI. (n.d.) <\/span>Three Sisters | FNTI<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Government of Canada. (2021.) <\/span>The Three Sisters: Optimizing the value and food potential of an ancestral indigenous crop system<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Indigikitchen. (n.d.) <\/span>Three Sisters Soup \u2013 Indigikitchen<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Kanehsatake Voices. (2017). <\/span>KANIENKEH\u00c1:KA CREATION STORY<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Marsh, E. (n.d.) <\/span>The Three Sisters of Indigenous American Agriculture<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Miles, G. (2021.) <\/span>File:Three Sisters 4.jpg – Wikimedia Commons<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Murphy, A. (2018.) <\/span>Meet the Three Sisters Who Sustain Native America<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Oneida. (2020.) <\/span>The Legend of the Three Sisters<\/span><\/a>Pace, K. (2015.) <\/span>The Three Sisters – Sustainable Food Center<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by Declan Murphy Edited by Shianne Liang Designed by Kiritika Rana Published by Kiritika Rana   Squash, corn and climbing beans are known as \u201cThe Three Sisters,\u201d and they have ruled agriculture in Canada since before there was a \u201cCanada\u201d. Today, let\u2019s appreciate these lovely siblings, as they continue to be great food for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12648"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12648"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12648\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12652,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12648\/revisions\/12652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12648"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12648"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seeds.ca\/schoolfoodgardens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12648"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}