Above: The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’s greenhouse complex in North Carolina enables community members to grow traditional foods such as these squash.
Indigenous Sustainability in the School of Sustainability at Arizona State Uni- versity, explains these efforts have led to the “rematriation” of seeds, a return to the “mothering embrace of the Earth” and of the women who largely cared for the crops they yielded. The division of labor between men and women in the garden varies from tribe to tribe, but historically women have led in the con- temporary preservation of seeds for future generations. Yet seeds are more than seeds. “Seeds
[are] responsive beings that are inher- ently embedded within ecological and spiritual webs of kinship,” not just “active storage containers of genetic material,” wrote Hoover after her 2014 journey. They are seen “both as children that need nurturing and protecting, and as grandparents who contain cultural wisdom that needs guarding.”
Community gardens can also help
preserve another endangered facet of Indigenous culture—Native languages. A valued community resource, the Pueblo of Nambe Community Farm in northern New Mexico also has become a perfect teaching ground. The farm has 3 acres of crops and
nearly 8 acres of vineyard. Beyond, a dozen bison roam across 200 acres of rangeland. “We grow salad greens, corn, chilis, melons and beans,” said George Toya (Jemez/Acoma Pueblo), the farm’s manager. “But none of it is for sale. It all goes to tribal members.” Toya explained that growing traditions
have been always passed down orally. Stu- dents and youth who now volunteer on the Pueblo farm learn from elders how to grow crops traditionally and pick up phrases in their Native language along the way. They also paint signs with both English
and Native words to identify plants, farm implements and the weather. Given that many words convey meanings that can’t be easily translated, working in the garden reinforces language learning. said Toya, as “some words—like those for water, pump- kin or moon—sound the same but their meaning is only revealed by context.” Gardens provide not only food but a
deep connection to tribal culture and the Earth. The gardens nourish people just as people nurture their gardens. “Our values were defined by growing food or gathering wild foods,” said Toya. “Plants hold a special place in our lifestyle and our spirituality. They served both as food but also as prayer and healing. Health came not only from ingesting food but also through hard work and prayers.”
aaron levin is a freelance journalist based in Baltimore, Maryland.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SPRING 2022 11
COURTESY OF EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS DIVISION OF AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES
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