The Northeastern Woodland Indians had their own farm plot and each member of the family had
an important responsibility. The women of the family were responsible for gathering wild
plants, such as berries, nuts, and edible plants and flowers. The men's responsibility was
to hunt, fish, and fell trees to make canoes. Many of the Eastern Woodland tribes were not
nomadic and relied on agriculture to provide food for the tribe. Being expert farmers,
farming was the main focus of their lives. The Iroquois lived in areas that provided good
farm land and the Powhatan also cultivated the land for food.
Many tribes planted corn, beans, and squash which they called the "Three Sisters". In addition to the three principal crops, gourds, Jerusalem artichokes, melons, pumpkins, sunflowers and tobacco were also grown. They also gathered seeds, berries, and nuts. They dried berries, corn, fish, meat and squash for the winter.
Women usually did the cultivating after the men had cleared the land and, along with their
children, spent a lot of time in the fields during the spring and summer seasons. It was
probably the women who experimented with agricultural techniques that resulted in the
successful cultivation of domestic crops.