Maize , which the
Europeans came to call "Indian corn, ” has an ancient and
interesting history and plays central roles in many native
myths and legends. Its most important practical use was as
meal. To make meal, harvested maize was dried and then
stored. As needed, the natives, and later Europeans, too, used
a mortar and pestle like these to grind, or "pound, " the dried
kernels into a powder that could be baked to make a variety
of breads or soaked to make grits. Mortars and pestles, which
•were commonly called " com pounders, ” were used so frequently
that they were usually kept by the front door.
The importance of one simple plant
by Terry L. Sargent
The natives of America could trace the history of
maize to the beginning of time. Maize was the
food of the gods that had created the Earth. It
played a central role in many native myths and legends.
And it came to be one of their most important foods.
Maize, in some form, made up roughly 65 percent of
the native diet.
Maize and the natives
Besides its divine connections, the natives had
practical reasons for using so much maize. Maize was
easy to grow. In fact, in this area, the plants grew and
developed so quickly that two crops could be grown in
one season. In addition, the plant was easy to harvest,
was not too difficult to store in different forms, and
had a variety of uses.
The natives stored most of the maize they harvested.
They dried it by placing the individual ears in the sun or
hanging them in the air to dry. Nearly all of this dried
maize was then “shelled'’ — the kernels were removed
from the cob. The natives ground these dried kernels
into meal or soaked them to make hominy. The kernels
of some kinds of maize could be popped over a fire.
Different parts of the maize
plant could be used for many
different purposes. The
natives used the husks, for
example, to make baskets,
mats, and moccasins. The
Europeans used them to make
brooms and chair bottoms and
to pad mattresses and collars
for draft animals. Even
today, maize, which we call
“corn, ” is used to make more
than a hundred products.
The natives also ate ears of maize in the “green"
form: raw and undried. The green ears were roasted
over fires or the kernels were cut off and cooked with
beans ar.d squash (the other two of the Three Sisters)
to make a dish called succotash.
The natives had many uses for the rest of the maize
plant, too. They used the husks that covered the ears to
make baskets, mats, and moccasins. Green husks were
used to wrap foods before they were placed in a fire for
cooking. The silks, or “hairs,” had uses such as padding.
Even the stalks of the plants could be hollowed out and
used as containers for such foods as maple sugar and
salt or for medicines.
The 'Three Sisters"
The natives referred to maize as one of the “Three
Sisters,” and they believed that the Three Sisters should
never be separated. The other two “sisters” were squash
or pumpkins or gourds and beans. Reasons that the
natives believed the Three Sisters should not be
separated undoubtedly originated in their myths
and legends and stories that had been passed
down through time.
But practical reasons also existed for growing
the sisters together. The stalk of the maize plant was
strong and tall. It could provide support for growing
bean vines in search of sunshine. Squash, gourd, and
pumpkin vines grew thick around the base of the maize
stalks and helped control the growth of weeds and the
loss of moisture in the mound.
European settlers come to know maize
When European settlers reached the New World, they
found that the native peoples were dependent on this
strange-looking grain. The European settlers had
brought their own grains, which included wheat, rye,
oats, and barley, with them. But they soon found their
grains did not grow as well in the American climate as
they had at home in Europe. Nor did they grow as well
as the native’s maize plants, which the newcomers came
to call “Indian corn.”
The settlers learned to cultivate Indian com from
their native neighbors, who were growing large amounts
of it. The newcomers even planted it using what they
called the Three Sisters method of planting. Colonial
farmers soon found that Indian corn could be grown
with little skill or attention and quickly became very
efficient at growing it. Some farmers could produce
twenty bushels of Indian corn per acre of land. A
hundred bushels of this life-supporting grain was
enough to feed a family of six for a year.
Like the natives, colonial farmers also found that
different parts of the plant had a number of useful by¬
products and purposes. They used its stalk and leaves
for livestock feed. They used cobs to start fires and
to fuel slow-burning fires. They used husks to make
brooms and chair bottoms as well as to pad mattresses
and collars for draft animals.
Over the years, maize, Indian corn, or just plain
“corn,” whatever you may call it, has remained as
important, versatile, and useful as it was to the
natives and the first Europeans.
Definitions (continued)
for thousands of years.
These Native American
cidtures began to change after
European contact, or after
they met white explorers.
After contact, native peoples
began to change some of their
practices and to adopt some
European technologies.
As the prehistoric natives
followed behind wandering
animals (which they killed
when they needed food), they
probably gathered, or picked,
wild plants to eat or use only
as they accidentally came
upon them. Later peoples
probably were familiar
with what plants grew
where and when, so they
could intentionally set out to
gather , or collect, particular
plants. Gathering is, in
general, the opposite of
planting, raising, and
harvesting.
Grain is the seed, or fruit , of
a variety
wheat, oats, and rice.
Prehistoric people are people
who live in a society that has
not yet developed a written
language and about whom
no written records exist.
Natives who lived in North
America before the arrival
of European colonists were
prehistoric because they did
not have a written language
and no written records about
them exist. Once explorers
met and wrote about the
natives, they could be
described as historic Indians.
of cereal grasses like
Hominy is made by
separating the husk of a corn
kernel from the seed and then
Terry L. Sargent reenacts 1830s
formwork and has marked with
livestock from this period for twelve
years. He has spent twenty years in
the animal health field.
The photo of 'Mary Wolfe pounding
com -with her family and friends
■watching is used with the assistance
and courtesy of the Museum of the
Cherokee Indian in Cherokee The
solo woman pounding corn and the
poster are from collections at the
Museum of History
1 1
