Skawennati

Skawennati’s practice largely explores Indigenous presence and futurity through virtual worlds, digital storytelling, and speculative narratives that imagine Indigenous Peoples thriving on their own terms.

This machinima unfolds as a time-lapse sequence from dawn to dusk, depicting the Three Sisters, Corn, Beans, and Squash, cultivated together in a garden located in cyberspace. By compressing a full day into minutes, the work draws attention to cycles of light, growth, and interdependence. This virtual  garden serves as a site for considering how Indigenous agricultural practices can inform sustainable relationships among people, plants, land, and one another.

The Three Sisters are traditionally cultivated together through companion planting, an agricultural method used by many Indigenous nations across Turtle Island. In contrast to industrial monoculture, which grows single crops in isolation, companion or polyculture planting acknowledges and utilizes the mutual support developed by plants. Corn, the eldest sister, is planted first and provides a tall, sturdy structure for Beans and her vines to climb. Beans also contributes nitrogen to the soil; while Squash, the youngest sister, spreads across the ground, with her broad leaves helping retain moisture, suppress weeds, and protect the soil. Each sister fulfils a distinct role, yet their collective strength emerges from their relationships.