Orchard Proposal (1):
The Native American Heritage Orchard
concept has been developed in communication with local tribal leaders and
Primarily, the
concept centers around the idea of celebrating Native American heritage
diversity at the local farmers market by making heritage varietals available
and through consumer education as to the history of these varietals.
Just as many
colonists were forced to learn from and adapt to Native American crops and
agricultural technologies such as the Three Sisters Method, so did the
Iroquois, Cherokee and other tribes learn to grow and adapt European produce,
varietals and technologies into their own farms and villages.
Cherokee apple varietals, for instance, tell
the tragic story of Cherokee and Colonial relations. Cherokee farmers along the Southeastern Coast
(Carolinas, Georgia) readily adapted apples into their diets and farm
production. Colonial and early Federal
governments provided seeds, cuttings (scion wood), and saplings to Colonist and
Native American alike for the establishment and growth of a unified American
farm economy and secure food supply.
Sadly, as the
former Colonists forced Native American tribes off their farms and out of their
villages, even the apple orchards had to be abandoned and left behind. Yet, a few remnants of these orchards remain
to this day and have been recorded.
There is a determined and educated effort underway to preserve this rich
agricultural heritage and the contributions of Cherokee farmers in the East and
their role in building up the early nation of the United States.
The orchard
proposal is to encourage sufficient production so as to serve the local farmers
markets and to pursue consumer education initiatives celebrating the Cherokee,
Pottawatomi, Cheyenne, Navajo, and other Native American agricultural heritages
in the USA.
The Orchard will
expand beyond apples with boundary plots of traditional heirloom corn, squash,
beans and other ag-related plants grown in the context of the Three Sisters
System.
Other important
Native American foodstuffs and traditions will also be preserved and presented
to local markets including the establishment of a Buffalo Berry hedge, a
Saskatoon Berry Grove and a wild plum orchard (including Pottawatomi plum
heritage varietals). The latter being
native fruit supplies important to Native American culture, cuisine and ritual
that are now being adopted commercially for the larger market. Not only do we celebrate diversity, but
Elkhart and Michiana will be placed at the forefront of an important growth
industry that is economically and environmentally sound and viable. Many of these crops are already important
sources of revenue for Hutterite and Mennonite communities in Central and
Western Canada and on the Northern Great Plains.
Finally, flattened
white peach varietals sourced to traditional Navajo peach orchards will be
included in the project to help preserve these strains while helping spread the
story of and respect for Navajo culture beyond tribal lands in the American
Southwest.
Importantly, the
aim of this orchard goes beyond production, embracing educational and
preservation goals and missions. The
orchard will be maintained as an educational exhibit space and permission will
be sought from the City of Elkhart for development of appropriate on-site
educational resources such as pamphlets and/or educational signage.
A much smaller
project is under consideration for a parcel of land being re-landscaped by
Prairie Street Mennonite Church in south-central Elkhart, and a companion or
twin garden to the Elkhart proposal is under consideration for Tsikamagi-owned
land in eastern Kentucky.
This project has
been compiled and resourced in cooperation with local and national tribes and
its methodology and goals have received approval and support from those who are
excited to work on such a narrative-healing and socially and historically
educational project.
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