Medicinal Monday - Corn is Good for More than Eating!

Corn was cultivated through the centuries by Native Americans. Eventually, it became a staple food in many Native American diets. Corn continues to play a central role in the arts, culture, health, and lifestyle of many Native Americans, nationwide, today. Many tribes hold special ceremonies such as the Green Corn Festival which gives thanks when the corn first ripens and can be eaten by the tribe. Corn was also used medicinally in a variety of interesting ways. The Insitute for American Indian Studies is holding its annual Green Corn Festival on August 14 from 12 noon to 4 pm @ Riverwalk Pavillion Park in Washington.

About Corn

Scientists believe that people living in central Mexico developed corn at least 7000 years ago. It started from a wild grass called Teosinte whose kernels were small and not fused together like the husked ear of modern corn. Also known as maize, the best plants for eating were systematically collected and cultivated.  The first maize was a few inches long with only eight rows of kernels but through systematic selective cultivation, cob length and size continued to grow.

Maize along with beans and squash did not reach southern New England until 1,000 years ago or so. Native Americans in New England planted corn in fields close to their wigwams.  Corn and beans were planted together in raised piles of soil. The beans supported the cornstalk and fertilized it with atmospheric nitrogen as they climbed the stalks. Squash was planted between the mounds and helped to keep insects, raccoons, and other wild animals at bay. The large leaves of the squash also shaded the ground and kept the soil moist. The three crops complemented each other both in the field and in their combined nutrition and were referred to as the three sisters.

Corn in New England

Many Native American traditions, stories and ceremonies surround corn.  In New England, maize is described as a gift of the creator; in several stories, a crow or blackbird delivered kernels of maize and beans to the tribes of the Eastern Woodlands, while other Algonquian stories also recount maize being brought by a person sent from the Great Spirit as a gift of thanks. Each year in August the Institute for American Indian Studies holds a Green Corn Festival with dancers, drummers, food, and educational activities to honor corn.

Medicinal Uses of Corn

Although corn was a staple that many Native American communities relied on as an important source of food and nutrition, corn was also used medicinally. The Western Keres ate the pollen as medicine. The Mohegan made a decoction of dried cobs and used them as a wash for the poison ivy rash. The Navajo made a poultice of the plant and applied it as ceremonial medicine for sore throats. The Tewa mixed cornmeal and water and used it for palpitations and pain. They also would rub a warm ear of corn on swollen glands. Many Native American communities used the tassel of silk on an ear of corn to treat urinary conditions. Corn was also used as a diuretic and mild stimulant. Many communities made an emollient poultice of cornmeal and used it to treat ulcers, swellings, and rheumatic pain. Parched corn was given to treat vomiting and nausea.

Did You Know...

Modern corn silk supplements are used to help prevent urinary tract infections and kidney stones.

Corn is the only native American grain, cultivated by Central American Natives for more than 7,000 years before it migrated north where it became part of the "three sisters" - corn, beans, and squash, a staple of Native American agriculture.

Corn is considered to be a wild grass and the corn kernels are the plant's seeds, while the ear or cob makes up part of the flower.

Corn's scientific name is Zea mays.

Some countries call corn, maize, a word that came from the word Mahiz in the Arawak language of Haiti.