this status.
We know that
American Indians have
long been studied and
researched, especially by
the academic community;
however, for many years,
little of that information
found its way into history
books. There are volumes
of information on file
about American Indians
at North Carolina's col¬
lege campuses; only
recently has much materi¬
al begun to be included
in textbooks used in pub¬
lic or private schools. Indians constantly question
the common practice of focusing on Plains Indians
in books and in popular media such as movies or
television programs. The history and culture of
Outside a traditional longhouse built on
the grounds of the State Capitol in
Raleigh, Denyce Hail and Chief Thomas
Lewis of the Meherrin tribe demonstrate
traditional American Indian practices such
as cooking over fire during the 2005
American Indian Heritage Celebration.
linage by Sue Vaughan for the N.C.
Commission of Indian Affairs.
Eastern Woodland Indians often get overlooked.
In North Carolina, before the Civil Rights era,
Indians experienced discrimination and different
forms of racism. At one time, some were discour¬
aged to even admit that they were Indians. In sev¬
eral counties, separate schools were established for
American Indians. These schools, built by volun¬
teers and paid for by the Indian community, were
small, mostly of one or two rooms. In some of these
same counties, separate dining and other public
facilities for the races were common before the
1960s; often, there were no "Indian" facilities — only
"white" and "colored." For a long time, limited
employment opportunities existed for American
Indians.
Today's American Indians enjoy more opportuni¬
ties. Their culture, heritage, and accomplishments
are shared more often in and outside their commu¬
nities. And the North Carolina government contin¬
ues to increase its support of the many efforts of the
state's first inhabitants.' ->
Legends and Myths: The “Three Sisters”
When Native people speak of the
"T hree Sisters," they are refer¬
ring to corn, beans, and
squash. Known as the "sustainers of life,"
these are the basic foods of sustenance.
They are seen as three beautiful sisters,
because they grow in the same mound in
a garden. The corn provides a ladder for
the bean vine. The squash vines shade
the mound and hold moisture in the soil
for the com and beans. The well-being of
each crop planted is said to be protected
by another. Many a legend has been
woven around the Three Sisters — sisters
who should be planted together, eaten
together, and celebrated together.
Legends vary from tribe to tribe. Here are
two versions.
The legend of "Three Sisters"
OS originated when a woman of
medicine who could no longer
bear the fighting among her three daugh¬
ters asked the Creator to help her find a
way to get them to stop. That night she
had a dream, and in it each sister was a
different seed. In her dream, she planted
them in one mound in just the way they
would have lived at home and told them
that in order to grow and thrive, they
would need to be different but depend¬
ent upon each other. They needed to see
that each was special and each had great
things to offer on her own and with the
mill, lull 2005
r — — — — — — — — — — — — —— — — — — — — T
! lTflinf{Jl6out It !
• Can you think of any stories that have
been passed down in your family, your
community, or your religious or ethnic
roup? Can you think of any stories you
now that explain things in nature? write
1 these stories down, illustrate them, and
I practice telling them.
• To learn more about American Indian
I storytellers, access www.ibiblio.org/
I storytelling. I
L _ — _ — _ — ___J
others. The next morning while cooking
breakfast, she cooked each daughter an
egg, but each was different: one hard-
boiled, one scrambled, and one over-easy.
She told her daughters of her dream and
said to them, "You are like these eggs.
Each is still an egg but with different tex¬
tures and flavors. Each of you has a spe¬
cial place in the world and in my heart."
The daughters started to cry and hugged
each other, because now they would cele¬
brate their differences and love one
another more because of them. From that
day on, Native people have planted the
three crops together — Three Sisters help¬
ing and loving each other.
A long time ago, three sisters
OS lived together in a field. These
sisters were quite different from
one another in their height and in the
way they carried themselves. The little
sister was so young and round that she
as told by Shelia Wilson*
could only crawl at first, and she was
dressed in green. The second sister wore
a bright, sunshine yellow dress, and she
would spend many an hour reading by
herself, sitting in the sun with the soft
wind blowing against her face. The third
was the eldest sister, standing always
very straight and tall above the other sis¬
ters, looking for danger and warning her
sisters. She wore a pale green shawl and
had long, dirty-yellow hair. There was
one way the sisters were all alike,
though. They loved each other dearly,
and they always stayed together. This
made them very strong.
One day a strange bird came to the
field: a crow. 1 le talked to the horses and
other animals, and this caught the atten¬
tion of the sisters. Late that summer, the
youngest and smallest sister disappeared.
Her sisters were sad. Again the crow
came to the field to gather reeds at the
water's edge. The sisters who were left
watched his trail as he was leaving, and
that night the second sister, the one in the
yellow dress, disappeared. Now the el¬
dest sister was the only one left. She con¬
tinued to stand tall. When the crow saw
how she missed her sisters, he brought
them all back together, and they became
stronger together again. The elder sister
stands tall looking out for the crow to
this day. £3
'Shelia Wilson is a member of the Saypony tribe. She lias lohl the tale of the "Three
Sisters" at the American Indian Heritage Celebration, held each November at the N.C
Museum of Historic
24
