Before Spring Break, students, faculty and staff were invited to the campus garden, where Students for Sustainability (SFS) hosted a celebration honoring the recently planted Cherokee corn varieties. The event brought the campus community and members of the Central Texas Cherokee Township together for cultural demonstrations and traditional games.
The garden hummed with activity as attendees gathered around Doug Martin, a representative from the Central Texas Cherokee Township, who led much of the day’s programming. Martin, whose passionate involvement has been crucial in bringing Cherokee corn varieties to campus, shared stories connecting the corn to Cherokee heritage and identity.
“By planting heirloom seeds … we’re not only saving our culture and perpetuating it, but we’re also increasing biodiversity, which we desperately need in agriculture, but also just in life,” Martin said.
The celebration began with a demonstration of stickball, a traditional Cherokee game that predates European contact. Participants attempted to master the wooden sticks used to catch and throw a small ball. Martin guided players through the rules while explaining the game’s historical significance as both a recreational activity and a way to resolve disputes between communities.
“Stickball wasn’t just a game — it was sometimes called ‘the little brother of war,’ Martin said. “Communities would use it to settle differences without bloodshed. Today, it continues as a way to bring people together and connect with our heritage.”
Luke Tobias, an SEU alum who was the garden director from 2021-2023, was involved in the initial planning to bring the Three Sisters’ gardening method to campus.
“The whole purpose of the Three Sisters garden is to improve not only the soil, but also develop those crops in a synergistic kind of way,” Tobias said. “I really do think that that type of gardening method … is really important for everyone to learn about.”
Martin devoted significant time to explaining the three sisters planting method — the traditional Indigenous technique of growing corn, beans and squash together. He demonstrated how the corn provides a natural trellis for the beans, while the beans fix nitrogen in the soil through a symbiotic relationship with a bacteria and the squash’s broad leaves provide ground cover that retains moisture,suppresses weeds and protects the soil.
Student attendee, Graydon Gorra who participated in the planting efforts as a SFS volunteer, reiterated the importance of the planting method.
“(Planting Indigenous corn varieties is) important because it is much more sustainable than the monoculture crops that you’d see in the Midwest,” Gorra said. “I think that it’s also a preservation of culture.”
J.J. Cunningham, a registered citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, now living in Austin, attended as a volunteer with the group. During the event, Cunningham shared about traditional indigenous attire, specifically her ribbon skirt.
“This is what’s called a ribbon skirt, and it is an adopted traditional skirt,” Cunningham said. “This was not traditionally worn precontact, nor was it worn pretextiles available to the eastern tribes. And it’s not Cherokee specific. Many indigenous peoples wear these skirts.”
Cunningham described the personal significance of her attire, noting that she made the skirt with her mother, who is also a Cherokee Nation citizen.
“When I say they’re very personal — like the material that I picked out, the ribbon scheme and this particular motif — they all have something behind them, like why I chose them,” she said.
The celebration marks another milestone in the ongoing partnership between St. Edward’s University and the Central Texas Cherokee Township. The Cherokee corn project stands as a living reminder that sustainability efforts are particularly effective when they honor traditional knowledge and foster community connections — principles that were on full display during Saturday’s celebration.
