THREE GIRLS THANKSGIVING

Three Sisters, Wikipedia

As we move into the heart of fall, the maple leaves are beginning to turn color at the tips as the nights grow colder foretelling the fallow days of winter. History records that the first winter for the new world pilgrims would have been devastating if it had not been for the American natives that showed them how to grow crops here. Many of the native tribes had found a lifesaving secret and a variety of legends about the three sisters emerged from these practices. They had discovered the symbiotic relationship among Corn Girl, Bean Girl and Squash Girl that sustained the three sisters and the Native Americans. The Cherokee and Iroquois legends tell of Corn Girl who wore a pale green dress and her long yellow silky hair blew in the wind. But the hot sun burned her feet while weeds grew around and choked her. Bean Girl was very thin and relatively weak as she lay on the ground. And Squash Girl with the yellow dress was short and hungry.

The Native Americans soon discovered that the primary crop of corn provided more energy calories per acre, but it grew healthier in community with beans and squash. The corn provided a much needed pole for the bean vines to climb and thrive. And the wide prickly squash leaves growing on the ground provided shade to control weeds and retain ground moisture from the rains. The beans fix nitrogen on their roots to improve the overall fertility of the soil for all the crops. Corn or maize is high in calories, but low in protein and amino acids. The bean is high in protein and has a complementing amino acid. The squash is high in calories, vitamins, and minerals while its seeds are a source of protein and oil.

The three sisters taught the Native Americans, the first pilgrims and still teach us today that there is strength in diversity and teamwork! And the bounty of that first harvest in the new world was evident on the first Thanksgiving Day when Americans demonstrated hospitality and fellowshiped with undocumented aliens from Europe!