Reuniting the Three Sisters: Native American Intercropping and Soil Health

Project Overview

LNC19-422
Project Type: Research and Education
Funds awarded in 2019: $200,000.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2022
Grant Recipient: Iowa State University
Region: North Central
State: Iowa
Project Coordinator:
Dr. Christina Gish Hill
Iowa State University

Information Products

Three Sisters Gardening Project (Article/Newsletter/Blog)
Recovering Indigenous Agriculture (Article/Newsletter/Blog)

Commodities

  • Agronomic: corn, sunflower
  • Vegetables: beans, cucurbits
  • Additional Plants: native plants

Practices

  • Crop Production: intercropping, seed saving
  • Education and Training: extension, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research, workshop
  • Natural Resources/Environment: carbon sequestration, soil stabilization
  • Soil Management: soil quality/health
  • Sustainable Communities: ethnic differences/cultural and demographic change, local and regional food systems

    Abstract:

    This project documented cultural and agronomic underpinnings of Three Sisters intercropping (3SI), with the overall objective of collaborating with Native gardeners to begin a 3SI research and education plot at Iowa State University’s Horticulture Research Station. Our central hypothesis was that working in collaboration with Native people to use their cultural knowledge of 3SI to design current gardening systems would result in improved yields and soil heath. Our rationale was that by working collaboratively with Native gardeners, our research would provide evidence for the socio-cultural, nutritional, and agroecological benefits of rejuvenating Native agriculture. Our specific objectives were to:

    1) Assess the cultural, nutritional, and agricultural importance of 3SI among 5 Native American communities. To accomplish this objective, we used interviews, community surveys, and evaluations of geographic food availability to explore the impacts of revitalizing the practice.

    2) Engage Native gardeners/farmers through citizen science. To accomplish this objective, we advanced our current collaborations with Native gardeners to collect soil and crop data from their own Three Sisters gardens.

    3) Evaluate the effects of 3SI on crop yield and soil health. To accomplish this objective, we used citizen science data collected in Objective 2 and establish a collaborative long-term 3SI research and education plot at Iowa State University, designed with direct input from Native gardeners. 

    Learning outcomes included increased awareness of the cultural, nutritional and agroecological value of 3SI to Native communities.  Native participants gained deeper knowledge of soil health and the skills to test their soil. Action outcomes included improved agroecological practices for soil health. Participants took soil tests and implemented new practices based on the results.

    Project objectives:

    Learning outcomes included:

    1) increased awareness of the practice of 3SI and its historical, cultural, and nutritional value to the community.

    2) deepened knowledge of soil health, the connection to nutrition, and the acquisition of skills to test their soil.

    Action outcomes included:

    1) broadened and deepened community engagement with personal and community gardening (via learning outcome 1).

    2) improved agroecological practices that promote soil health through learning outcome

    3). Long term action outcomes of our collaborations included developing improved strategies for 3SI to increase the sustainability of Native communities and greater cooperation among ISU and Native communities and partners.

    Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or SARE.