Oga John: Navajo White Corn

What do you like about Navajo White Corn and why did you want to grow it in the Living History Gardens?

Oga John: Navajo White corn is who we Diné are as people. Our creation story tells of white corn and yellow corn laid between two hides and Niyol Tso (Big Wind) blowing life into the corn creating First Man from an ear of white corn and First Woman from an ear of yellow corn. So, so corn is said to be what we Dine are made of.  We pray with our corn pollen which represents honesty and being true as that’s what comes with and through prayer. Every part of corn represents every part of our human being.

Traditional white corn has been grown by Dine for millenia and is foundational to our Navajo creation and origin narratives, symbolizing growth, life and the eastward direction.  Dry-farming techniques are utilized for our corn to thrive in arid desert conditions.

Neeshjizhii – steamed corn

Nitsidigo’i – Kneel down bread

Dinetah – Navajo homelands (within the 4 sacred mountains)

Naadaa’ Ligai – White Corn

So much knowledge to be gained from our traditional foodways and practices. Our food systems were destroyed by the military and our ancestors were driven out of their homelands in the 1860s. Crops were decimated, orchards cut down and livestock slaughtered. My ancestors practiced regenerative agriculture by harmonious interactions with the land, the crops and livestock. We haven’t recovered fully but our tribe is resilient and I am happy to see the new generation picking up and carrying on the torch to bring back food traditions.

With growing Naadaa’ Ligai I wanted the Diné story of resilience in the face of destruction to be heard.

What was your process to grow the corn? 

1) Determine about how many seeds you want to plant   

2) A week before planting, wrap  the seeds in a cloth/potato sack and bury in a pre-soaked hole about a foot deep - water again after filling the hole back up (mark the place they are buried as I know some farmers who forgot where they buried until a bag full of seedlings made their way to the surface) This is germination step as now we have seeds that have begun growth   

3) Water the seeds daily (historically there would be a fire built to keep the seeds warm overnight) if its not quite so cold all should be well   

4)  After about a week the kernels should start sprouting roots – this is the optimal time to plant (don’t wait too long – we don’t want the sprouts to start molding)   

5)  Plant 6- 8 seeds about 1-2 feet apart in the field or in your garden using a shovel or a planting stick   

6)  When corn is about 2 weeks planted then squash can be planted (these help to shade the ground from drying out keeping the ground moist longer) after corn reaches 1 ft tall then beans can be planted so the growing corn won’t be choked out by the bean tendrils   

7) Water corn weekly and when the corn silk starts to dry out that is when the corn is ready to harvest   

Note:  We do harvest the corn pollen for our prayers and ceremonies but I missed this step this season. I do want to learn the songs that go along with harvesting pollen so that I am giving respect.

How are these foods typically grown and cooked by your family?   

Oga John: My ancestors were original regenerative farmers.  Corn was grown in our family field in the canyon that the Nazlini wash flows through. We had berms to help with soil degradation/blown away initially planted in circles but began planting in rows. Water was hauled from the well or hand carried in buckets from the wash. Practiced dry land farming methods. There are so many ways to cook Navajo White Corn. First, is Kneel Down bread which my mother Elsie and I will be demonstrating. Steamed corn is another favorite that is used in stews, Corn meal, Navajo cake (female puberty ceremony), roasted, mushed, fried, creamed corn.

Is there a member of your family who inspired your connection to growing and eating Navajo White Corn in particular?

Oga John: I would have to say that all my female relatives inspired my connection but it all began with my great-grandmother (shimasani sani) who lived at the edge of a cliff above the three turkey ruins near Canyon De Chelly. The real connection though, was from my grandma (shimasani) Pauline who we all lovingly called Grams. We lived with her and my grandfather (shicheii) Tom Gorman during the summers with other cousins and we all learned together as a team herding sheep, shearing sheep going to sheep camp, helping with making food and chores.     I inherited my great grandmother’s plot from my mom. It sits right on the Nazlini wash and was very bountiful in crops so our family all grew there together. Its about looking forward as growing does take the future into consideration.Yelth Desbah was strict and blunt in her communication. She lived alone off of the land until she grew too old to care for herself and she moved in with us when I was ___ years old ( i don’t remember exactly) but we grew closer to her.

Share a recipe:

Navajo White Corn - Naadaa’ Ligai

Kneel-down bread - Nitsidigo’i

• Historically, young, fresh, sweet or field corn (white, blue, or yellow) ground on a grinding stone with no extra additives.  

  
  

• Scrape corn from the cob, ground don a stone metate into batter spooned into corn husks and backed underground in a earth pit.  

  
  

• Modern method: use of blender, backed in standard oven at roughly 350-400 F fr about an hour.