Analysis Of Iroquois Corn: Examining A Tuscarora Story

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Examining a Tuscarora Story Dr. Carol Cornelius, an Oneida educator, shares a Tuscarora story The Legend of Onenha (the corn) in Iroquois Corn: In a Culture-Based Curriculum (1999). In this story, An old man was very ill and heard voices of women in his dreams. He was instructed to set out a bark bowl to catch the rainwater, which would heal him. He followed instructions and was healed. The women (corn, beans, and squash) taught him the corn songs and dances and told him to return to his people and teach them. They explained that they helped him because whenever he travelled and he found corn, bean, or squash seeds (“we are of course sisters”) he would pick them up. They told him that they give thanks when humans plant them and till the ground …show more content…

The example given was that the man helped the seeds that lost their way, and in return, the seeds, as the three sisters (Beans, Corn and Squash), helped him in his time of need. The three sisters also taught the man about ceremonies of thanksgiving as a way to bring an attitude of thankfulness to the larger human community so that they too, will offer gratitude to their three sisters at the designated times, as the sisters do to the humans who care for them. The story expresses a theme of interconnectedness and interdependence where the three sisters are reliant upon and thankful to the humans for their survival, and likewise, the humans are reliant upon and thankful to the three sisters for their own survival. Together, humans, Corn, Beans, and Squash, celebrate and give thankfulness for their cooperative relationship with one another. Additionally, whereas western knowledge holds that there is a natural environment that is separate from humans, this story portrayed the opposite. The prevailing themes of interconnectedness and interdependence point to a web of life in which all beings on earth share an integral a part in maintaining ecological balance. The Legend of Onenha describes a unity and an interconnectedness that exists in all of creation …show more content…

While, on the other hand, Tuscarora truth produces a society that embraces cooperation, conservation and stewardship, abundance of life where everyone’s needs are more likely to be met, and through actions that extend from these values, social harmony is likely to

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