From the forested Eastern Woodlands of Turtle Island to the steep mountain slopes of the Andes, corn has played an essential role in supporting Indigenous societies, all while being deeply rooted in their creation stories and cosmologies.

First domesticated in the Mexican highlands nearly 9000 years ago, maize as an agricultural staple spread to Indigenous societies across the Americas over the following centuries, branching out into over 200 varieties.

Along the Yaqui River in the Sonoran Desert, the Yaqui people developed a variety that is tolerant to the hot, semi-arid environment called yoeme blue corn, known locally as vatchi.

According to a Yaqui creation story, the blackbird gave Man corn and the Toad showed Man how to grow it, allowing them to survive. To this day, some Yaqui people still bless the ground before they plant corn.

The kernels of yoeme blue corn are naturally hard and must be soaked in water, mesquite ash and lime, in a process called nixtamalization, before they can be used. It can be turned into masa flour to make staple foods like tortillas, hominy, tamales and corn cakes, known locally as napa nohim.