The term refers to a growing method in which a trio of plants – corn, beans and squash – grow symbiotically. The corn serves as a support for the climbing beans, the latter enrich the soil with nitrogen, while the squash cover the soil, limiting evaporation and the proliferation of weeds. Thousands of years old, this sustainable agricultural system maximizes harvest while minimizing maintenance and preserving soil health.
From prehistory to today
The culture of the three sisters was carried by the movements of indigenous peoples through their migrations, mainly by the Haudenosaunee, commonly called “Iroquois”.
The technique dates back to Mexico and prehistory, 5000 to 7000 years ago. It would have first nourished the great Mayan and Inca civilizations, before extending north to the regions of the Great Lakes, the Mississippi Valley and the Appalachians. It was refined there by the sedentary peoples of the Iroquoian family and adopted by that of the Algonquians, who were semi-sedentary.
The spiritual side
More than a cultivation technique, the three sisters occupy an important place in the spirituality of certain indigenous nations. Considered a sacred gift from the Earth, this trio of plants symbolizes interdependence and harmony with nature.
The three sisters in Quebec
Before the arrival of the French, Iroquoian territory extended from southern Quebec, around the St. Lawrence Valley, to western New York State. It included the Georgian Bay region as far as Stadaconé (today Quebec), sometimes reaching Saguenay, on the border of Innu lands.
The Iroquoians (Huron-Wendat and Mohawk) exchanged the “three sisters” with neighboring Algonquian nations (Abenaki, Algonquin, Attikamek, Micmac and Innu) for products from hunting and fishing. “The Micmacs added fish to it. The Innu put caribou there. On the Huron-Wendat side, we mainly used deer or moose,” gives the example of entrepreneur Steeve Gros-Louis, from Wendake.
In any case, the name “sagamité” described this hearty soup meal which was also adopted by the first settlers. Arriving with their vegetable crop, they added other vegetables and cereals, notably cabbage, carrots or barley, explains international nutrition consultant Marianne Lefebvre.
PHOTO GETTY IMAGES
A garden designed according to the principles of the three sisters.
A nourishing combination
The ancestor of sweet corn was harvested at the same time as beans and squash, in October. “When combined, these three foods provide a nutritionally balanced meal. We will look for complex carbohydrates, including fiber, vegetable proteins, vitamins and minerals,” argues Marianne Lefebvre.
Sagamité: vital dish
Sagamity is the embodiment of the agricultural trinity. This thick and nourishing soup, combining corn, beans and squash, was central to the diet of the Iroquoians and some Algonquian nations. We cooked soup, often the only meal of the day, with what we had on hand. It could therefore be enriched with game, fish, fat, nuts or wild fruits. To make it more consistent, it was sometimes thickened with corn flour. It is traditionally eaten with bannock, a typically indigenous unleavened bread.