Return to Mishoo’s Garden: “Growth and Storytelling” is an Indigenous Food Sovereignty project that will help to reconnect our community’s youth and Elders through storytelling and growth of traditional foods and medicines. Historically, Elders were very much involved with teaching youth through hands-on instruction, learning by doing. Today, this practice of demonstration will be supported by stories of old while creating new stories.
Storytelling has been an integral part of cultural teachings. In this project, Elders and youth will be paired together, to share stories of our food systems of the past when lush gardens and orchards grew abundantly. Gardening, harvesting and food preservation will capture first-person stories of gardening, hunting, and gathering/foraging and will be shared via pictures, AV, books, and in-person. We need these stories.They connect us to our Past and will nourish our Present and Future. Land-based curriculum development will utilize Anishinaabemowin within the scope of each objective across-the-curriculum subjects. Signage will showcase plants, medicines, trees in our language.
Bkejwanong once had orchards in various locations within the community that were replaced by developments in the early 1960’s. Fruit trees such as pawpaws and choke cherries that once grew here will again find their home. “Return to Mishoo’s Garden” will bring growth to two public locations, the newly-built greenhouse and, also, Bkejwanong Library. This initiative has the potential to bring our community back together through shared learning as we grow traditional foods and medicines while promoting our Anishinaabemowin language. This project will benefit all community members and may also lead to careers in Indigenous agriculture.
Through colonization, our People have lost many of our stories and deep connections with traditional food systems and growing practices. Restoring this relationship is critical to our cultural identity, our emotional, physical, mental and spiritual health. Our young people need this grounding in an increasingly complex, technological world. Climate change, international food supply chain disruptions, and rising food prices underscore the necessity of teaching our youth the importance of food security and self-sufficiency.
“Return to Mishoo’s Garden” is a doorway to who we once were, but armed with the tools of today. Newly-developed Indigenous curriculum, along with corresponding Anishinaabemowin language, will be rooted in our traditional growing practices. Elders can take pride in continuing their purpose, passing down knowledge and wisdom, benefitting all community members.
Sharing our ‘old’ stories and creating new stories through multimedia documentations will be readily available to our community, now and into the next Seven Generations. Additionally, these teachings and resources will be available to other First Nations across Turtle Island. Storytelling is a transformative tool for reconnection, reclaiming knowledge, and building resilience.
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Our Ancestors are smiling and happy knowing that we are on the path picking up the bundles they left fo us…here’s to another thousand years, aho!❤️🙏🏾🔥💧
I am in support of this thanks for including me
Comment commitment
I’d love to try the elusive pawpaw fruit! I think it’s a great idea for the community.
This would be awesome of course I support this!
This project re-instills what has been lost, brings new awareness to the land, and connects our past and present. I fully support this vital