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The Three Sisters as Indigenous Sustainable Agricultural Practice

The Three Sisters—corn, beans, and squash—is a form of Indigenous sustainable agriculture that involves the practice of intercropping or companion planting, where plants are grown next to each other for mutual benefit. This Indigenous sustainable agricultural practice invites environmental stewardship, increases the quality of life of Indigenous Peoples, and helps communities to achieve food sovereignty.

Environmental stewardship is a key component to Indigenous sustainable agriculture; it involves the “responsible use and protection of the environment,” which includes “ limiting the harvest of natural resources.” The Three Sisters is a form of environmental stewardship because they “support growth without requiring fertilizers, pesticides, equipment or intense irrigation.” The plants support each other in unique ways. The corn stalks provide support to the beans, and the plants exchange nitrogen with the soil to facilitate growth. The squash, planted between the beans and corn, and their leaves, cover and protect the soil, to stop weeds from propagating. It is reported that the Three Sisters thrive better together than if each of the corn, beans, and squash were planted on their own. Together, they also deter pests. EcoWatch provides instructions for how to grow a Three Sisters Garden.

The quality of life of Indigenous Peoples is improved through the Three Sisters. Once used heavily by Indigenous Peoples in the Great Lakes region of North America, the Three Sisters, as a model of sustainable agriculture, holds the potential to offer business opportunities and a sustainable food source for Indigenous communities in ways that connect these communities to their own cultural traditions. In addition, the Three Sisters are rich in minerals and vitamins to “support community health and quality of life.” Currently, Indigenous communities are working with researchers from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to explore how and why the Three Sisters’ model is especially successful.

Promoting local food production is crucial to Indigenous food sovereignty and long-term food security. As a traditional form of intercropping, the Three Sisters also produces a high agricultural food yield (i.e., average energy measured in kCal and grams of protein per unit of farmland per year). According to research conducted by Dr. Jane Mt. Pleasant (Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences), “The Three Sisters yields more energy (12.25 x 106 kcal/ha) and more protein (349 kg/ha) than any of the crop monocultures or mixtures of monocultures planted to the same area.”

Indigenous farmers could benefit from a network of peers who engage in indigenous sustainable farming and gardening year-round, through large-and-small-scale farms, community gardens, and greenhouses. The potential for such a network to facilitate information exchange, knowledge sharing, and advocacy to promote Indigenous agricultural practices is one that is worth exploring. The Three Sisters is just one example of Indigenous sustainable agriculture, rooted in regional knowledge, Indigenous traditions, and cultural experiences. Other examples of Indigenous sustainable agricultural practices across Turtle Island could be explored to build a stronger shared understanding of Indigenous approaches to sustainability.

 

By Leela Viswanathan

 

Photo Credit: Meritt Thomas, Unsplash

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Climate Change Adaptation in Kanaka Bar

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At Kanaka Bar, preparing for climate change is seen as an important milestone towards the achievement of community’s vision of self-sufficiency.  It is being incorporated in everything that is being done by the community on a day to day basis.  The Traditional Territory of Kanaka Bar is located 14 kilometers south of Lytton, B.C., in the Fraser Canyon. Water plays a critical role in the health of the community. Kanaka Bar has five watersheds: Kwoiek Creek, Morneylun Creek, Nekliptum Creek, Siwash Creek and Four Barrel Creek, all of which support traditional food sources, wildlife and agricultural activities, provide drinking water to the community and hydroelectric power to BC Hydro’s grid.

Over the recent years, many changes have been observed throughout the Traditional Territory. Community members have noticed that wildlife is moving away from the community and travelling further up-mountain, salmon numbers are decreasing and are swimming deeper in the Fraser River in search of cooler temperatures and vegetation growth is changing. As well, consistent rainfall has been replaced by long periods of dry weather and unpredictable storms. These local observations are consistent with scientific predictions of how climate change is likely to affect the region. Although drought has not yet affected the community’s water resources, there is substantial concern that they may be threatened as climate change impacts intensify.

In response to these concerning changes within their Territory, Kanaka Bar has undertaken a Community Vulnerability Assessment to better understand how their environment may continue to change, and how these changes may impact key community values and areas of concern.

Understanding Kanaka Bar’s concerns and priorities was the first step in the Vulnerability Assessment process. Together with environmental professionals from Urban Systems, community members gathered at engagement events to ask questions, and express their concerns about climate change and how it would impact community life and well-being.

After priorities were identified, current and future effects of climate change on these areas were studied. Some anticipated changes that emerged from this research were warmer temperatures year-round; less precipitation in the summer but more in the fall, winter, and spring; less snow; more frequent and intense storms events; changes in water resources; continued stress on the salmon population; changes in the availability of traditional foods; and increased risk of forest fire.

Understanding the ways in which Kanaka Bar was vulnerable to climate change has allowed the community to take meaningful steps towards reducing their risks and becoming more resilient by developing an adaptation strategy. Kanaka Bar’s Adaptation Strategy supports their goal of self-sufficiency while increasing their resilience. It maps out short and long term adaptation actions in six priority areas: Water Resources, Forest Fires, Traditional Foods, Access Roads, Supporting Self-Sufficiency and Youth and Community Engagement and Education. These actions range from installing weather monitoring stations in the community, to expanding food production initiatives, to hosting annual workshops on climate change. Together they represent a “Made at Kanaka, by Kanaka for Kanaka” adaption plan that will benefit the community in a holistic way that goes far beyond coping with climate change.

To learn more about Kanaka Bar and the great strides they’re making towards climate resilience and self-sufficiency, visit their website.

Figure 1Kanaka Youth at Morneylun Water Gauging Station

 

Author: Kanaka Bar

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