The Buffalo's Gift

Unlike most other Plains Indians, these people grew maize and kept vegetable gardens. Tribal teachings tell that corn was discovered when a camp stood between two creeks and seven buffalo appeared at their mouths. People hunted them, but the buffalo disappeared and in their place were seven piles of manure with tiny plants sprouting. The head chief decided to let the plants grow and ripen. When the people returned, tall stalks stood there, and a man in the camp named Mii-sah husked one of the ears, started a fire, roasted it, ate some, and said it was good. They called it Wah-tan-zee. Corn became a staple food in their diet. At planting time, they pressed a buffalo track in the earth with their fingers and dropped a maize seed into it. They also grew beans, squash, pumpkins, and watermelon, and raised many varieties of corn, including red corn, gray corn, red-speckled corn, and sweet corn. They have long grown maize and kept vegetable gardens, and their relationship with Mother Earth has always been one of reciprocity and respect.

Nebraska · United States