"Three Sisters" make White House appearance
The Three Sisters made an appearance at the White House last week, and we aren't talking about an R&B group.
First Lady Michelle Obama was back in the White House kitchen garden with school children, this time planting the "three sisters:" corn, beans and squash.
Mrs. Obama and Native American children from tribes across the country used an ancient planting technique in which corns, beans and squash are planting in such a way as to use the corn stalks to support the beans vines and the squash vines prevent weeds.
The first lady and the children also harvested some spring crops, and a Native American prayer ceremony was conducted to bless the harvest.
The guests were invited as part of the latest component of Mrs. Obama's childhood obesity campaign, Let's Move in Indian Country, which encourages the use of "culturally proficient" strategies to create food and fitness projects to make tribal communities healthier.
"We’re working specifically with young kids in the Native American community all across the country," Mrs. Obama said during brief welcoming remarks. "And this planting is a special way to highlight that new initiative."
Jefferson Keel, President of the National Congress of American Indians, led the blessing ceremony before the gardening action began. He spoke in English and his native tongue.
"We always go to the Creator prior to planting," Keel explained.
Categories: White House Vegetable Garden
