The three sisters
By now, anyone with an IQ above room temperature knows that the Cherokee did not live in tipis. What is perhaps less well known is the degree to which the Cherokee had developed production agriculture.
If we are to take seriously the notes and journals of that war criminal Jack Sevier and the terrorists who rode with him, they routinely destroyed thousands of tons of grain and other foodstuffs every time they burned a Cherokee town. If the records are to be believed, the Cherokee agricultural system had been developed to a level of per acre yield far beyond what was common in Europe at the time.
Corn has been the cornerstone of both the Cherokee economy and of Cherokee spirituality for many centuries. As the eldest of the “Three Sisters” corn occupies a place both practical and sacred. It is the tradition around agriculture among the Cherokee that has much to teach us even today.
The “Three Sisters” of the Cherokee agricultural tradition are corn, beans, and squash. Corn is planted first, and after a certain period of time, beans and squash are planted along with the corn. The corn provides a structure for the bean vines, the beans help to fertilize the soil, and the squash suppresses weed growth. All in all, it is a symbiotic and balanced system which reflects the Cherokee need for balance in all things. It also reflects the Cherokee belief that all of creation is, in itself, a perfect balance and that humans have a responsibility to help maintain that balance.
This philosophy of balance is worth learning from.
“Sustainability” is a big thing these days. People talk about it everywhere from politics to coffee. But sustainability is impossible without balance, and balance does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, balance is a philosophy whichencompasses all aspects of life. if balance were pursued in modern society as it
was in pre-colonial Cherokee society, we would not have many of the problems we currently struggle with.
The Cherokee concept of balance as illustrated in the Three Sisters agricultural tradition is reflective of a broader tradition of balance and consideration governing Cherokee civil society and personal interaction. At its base point, this tradition recognizes the basic truth of the old proverb “no man is an island.” Cherokee tradition holds that the welfare of the community, as a whole, depends on the conduct and commitments of the individual members of that community. This is a fundamental truth, whether it is accepted in modern society or not. Some level of consideration for one’s neighbors is not only good manners, but also serves the greater good of society. Thereby serving the good of every member of society.
Unfortunately, in the last few decades we have spent far too much time glorifying the jackass factor. From professional sports to talk radio, we have glorified bad manners and anti-social rabble rousing to the point that we have raised a generation of children who do not have the first clue about proper behavior in public. To make bad matters worse, many of the older generation seem to have forgotten why good manners were important in the first place.
Why is it important to “walk in balance?” Why are good manners and social grace important? In these modern times, we have glorified selfishness to the point that we have almost destroyed the societal foundation that made such selfishness possible in the first place. We all depend on each other. If we are to live in a prosperous society, we must depend on each other. The loaf of bread in your bread box is but one example of this, one example of the truth of the Cherokee tradition of interdependence.
For that loaf of bread to be in your kitchen, many people made their contribution. Farmers, farm workers, farm machinery dealers, grain elevators, millers, truck drivers, bakers, store stockers, and so it goes. All of us depend on all the rest of us, that is the nature of civilized society. We would know this, and benefit from it, if we still taught our children proper manners, perhaps by having good manners ourselves.
What do the Three Sisters have to teach us today? They can teach us valuable lessons about healthy relationships, the interdependence of society, or to care for the environment that sustains us, or we could put it more simply, “don’t be a jackass.”