Question

Use this story to complete the activity.

The Forgotten Ear of Corn

An Arikara woman was once gathering corn from the field to store away for winter use. She passed from stalk to stalk, tearing off the ears and dropping them into her folded robe. When all was gathered she started to go, when she heard a faint voice, like a child's, weeping and calling:

Oh, do not leave me! Do not go away without me."
The woman was astonished. "What child can that be?" she asked herself. "What babe can be lost in the cornfield?"

She set down her robe in which she had tied up her corn, and went back to search; but she found nothing.

As she started away she heard the voice again:

Oh, do not leave me. Do not go away without me."

She searched for a long time. At last in one corner of the field, hidden under the leaves of the stalks, she found one little ear of corn. This it was that had been crying, and this is why all Indian women have since garnered their com crop very carefully, so that the succulent food product should not even to the last small nubbin be neglected or wasted, and thus displease the Great Mystery.

Write one to two sentences explaining how stories like The Forgotten Ear of Com helped Native American communities preserve their culture.

Answer 1

Stories like The Forgotten Ear of Corn helped Native American communities preserve their culture by passing down important cultural values, such as the importance of not wasting resources and respecting the natural world, from generation to generation. These stories also served as a way to teach and reinforce community traditions and customs.