Rebecca Webster: When ancient wisdom beats modern industry

When ancient wisdom beats modern industry

Suffering illness and despair, Chief Handsome Lake prepared for death. Then, he had a vision. He was walking through a planted field and heard a woman call out. She told him that the recent devastation had left her and her sisters with little hope for the future and asked if they could join him on his journey toward death. Who were these women? Rebecca Webster shares the tale of the Three Sisters. [Directed by Luisa Holanda, narrated by Alexandra Panzer, music by Gabriel Maia].

Long before industrial agriculture, Indigenous communities developed the Three Sisters system, where corn, beans, and squash thrive together in a mutually supportive way. After witnessing the devastation of his people, Handsome Lake’s vision renewed the importance of this knowledge, which preserved both food and cultural survival. Today, the Haudenosaunee still plant the Three Sisters, a method shown to enrich soil and conserve water. Modern monocropping depletes resources, yet traditional regenerative practices offer hope for sustainable farming.