Conservation Halton’s Crawford Lake is hosting The Three Sisters art exhibit from Tuscarora artist Raymond R. Skye. Running Nov. 9 to Feb. 23 at the Deer Clan Longhouse gallery, the exhibit aims to provide art and education in hopes of building a greater understanding of the importance of agriculture in longhouse cultures.
The gallery space is located in the reconstructed 15th-century longhouse village.
“Much of my artwork reflects my cultural teachings. I believe those teachings continue to guide me, and help me to portray my culture with the authenticity and dignity it deserves. Visuals are very important to the learning process, for it helps the viewer to better comprehend the story behind the imagery. My ability to create such visuals allows me to enhance the history I want to portray,” said Skye in an interview.
The term Three Sisters is used to describe the three main agricultural crops — corn, beans and squash — of various Indigenous peoples. When planted together, the three crops are part of a technique known as companion planting, where the different plants support one another in different ways.
Skye said that labelling the crops the Three Sisters is a slight misunderstanding. He said the Three Sisters was the description of the women who would nurture and harvest the crops.
“I’m hoping an exhibit like this will help to clarify to the public not to believe everything you read. Sometimes, you have to go right to the source to find out the real truth,” said Skye.
Evidence of the Three Sisters crops in Indigenous agricultural traditions have been found all over North America, with different regions having slight variations of it.
Multiple benefits have been found when planting the crops together. For example, the beans provide nitrogen, the cornstalk acts as a trellis for the beans and the leaves of the squash plant provide shade, which helps prevent weeds from growing.
“It’s the nutrients and the support that they lend to each other,” said Skye. “I’ve often looked at it and thought, it’s just like those women in the garden that are nurturing them, looking after them, taking care of them. They’re there to take care of each other too.”
Three Sisters will be on display from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends and holidays until Feb. 23.
For more information on the exhibit, visit conservationhalton.ca/events. For additional inquiries, Conservation Halton Visitor Services staff can be reached by telephone at 905-878-5011 or by email at visitorservices@hrca.on.ca.
