Educational Media Reviews Online

It is said that when Sky Woman fell through the sky to earth, she brought with her the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash. These she planted on the back of a turtle. So it is that corn is a sacred gift, giving oil, food, and beverage.

The Gift is a well made and interesting film that uses a variety of methods, from modern dance to interviews, to explore the meaning of corn in the lives of people indigenous to the Americas. Since it was first domesticated by the Maya, corn became a staple for many peoples throughout the Americas. Even today, it stills holds Native American communities together through the rituals of harvesting, husking bees, traditional stories, and shared meals.

Food is not merely a necessity or commodity. It is sacred. It is what sustains us and our communities. To plant is to work with the Creator. The domestication of corn is looked at as the first treaty between humans and nature. So, when families and tribes work to keep the original varieties and strains of corn alive and prosperous, it not out of nostalgia or tradition, but out of a covenant with their communities and the Creator.

Intertwined with the sacred is the practical. The three sisters - corn, beans, and squash - are grown together to the benefit of all three. The corn provides support for the beans. The beans, in turn, provide nitrogen for the soil. The squash provides ground cover which keeps in moisture and prevents weeds. The foods from these three plants provide a substantial portion of the nutrients that we need. Several farmers interviewed lament the heavy reliance on synthetic fertilizers which are damaging the soil. The ground, one points out, is alive and can die.

Taking the viewer from Southern Ontario and New York State to Southern Mexico, the Gift touches on the sacred, practical and political aspects of corn. This documentary is suitable for middle school and up; and, would fit well in courses on social studies, anthropology, sociology, Native American studies, as well as agricultural and food sciences.