Three Sisters Garden in Oil City

On June 15, Christ Church, Oil City was honored to be invited to participate in the blessing of a Three Sisters Garden in Oil City.

The garden, which will feature corn, beans, and squash—the traditional Three Sisters of Native American planting—is located around the statue of Chief Cornplanter (Gyantwachia, “the planter”) of the Seneca (O-non-dowa-gah) Nation.

A large portion of the north side of Oil City is located on one of the three tracts of land given to Chief Cornplanter and his heirs by the Pennsylvania legislature.

The concept of the garden originated with Little Turtle of the East, a local Lenape community. The Lenape and Seneca coexisted peacefully in parts of western Pennsylvania after the Lenape were forced from their homelands in the east. Corn was planted on June 15, and the beans and squash will be added at the appropriate times. David Whithawk performed a traditional smudging ceremony, followed by the Rite for the Blessing of a Garden.