By Sylvia Lindman, WSU Vancouver staff writer
On Oct. 14, Indigenous People’s Day, students from an upper-division literature class helped plant cover crops at WSU Vancouver’s new Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge Garden. This first planting was a milestone, one that took seven years and immeasurable effort to achieve.
Inspired by Native American culture, the garden will bring together traditional knowledge of the area and its food crops with modern knowledge and skills. “We place a high value on growing and harvesting our own foods and medicines and sharing old teachings in new and relevant ways,” said Julian Ankeny, director of Native American Programs.
The garden will have two parts: a community garden with individual plots for students; and an indigenous learning garden with plants native to the area, such as sweetgrass and sage. Not only will the garden provide opportunities to learn the practicalities of food production but it will also provide space for outdoor experiential learning about food security and food sovereignty.
The garden first took root in conversations among members of WSU Vancouver’s Native American Community Advisory Board about food insecurity and health disparities in the Native population as well as the general population in the region. Calling food scarcity a “life or death issue for humanity,” in the words of NACAB member Roben White, the group felt compelled to take action in the face of looming climate collapse and water shortages. WSU Vancouver faculty and others were thinking along the same lines. Why, for example, were so many students hungry?
WSU Vancouver’s Collective for Social and Environmental Justice got involved and in 2020 launched its Food System Justice Action Research to explore how partnerships might help advance food system justice. A survey of 300 students by the Associated Students of WSU Vancouver yielded enthusiastic responses for the garden. Clark County/WSU Extension and Portland State University’s Indigenous Nation Studies joined the effort, and financial support came in from fundraising, grants, departmental contributions and other sources. The garden was a tangible outcome.
The garden will be integrated into courses across the university’s curriculum—from the sciences to humanities and human development. “There are all kinds of unlikely connections we’re making,” said Desiree Hellegers, professor of English and director of CSEJ. “We have a curriculum subcommittee that will work to strategize integration of materials across disciplines. I’m teaching a course on 17th- and 18th-century literature in the spring, and my students will be working in the garden as well. ‘Paradise Lost’ is all about a garden.”
Located between Green 3 parking lot and the Clark College Building, the garden was readied for planting in mid-September, thanks to earth-moving and heavy equipment provided by the Cowlitz Indian Tribe. “We’re just getting to planting now,” Hellegers said, “so students this term will be mostly involved in planting, amending the soil and constructing a cedar fence.” The fence itself will serve as a canvas for plantings and art.
More planting, tending, weeding, harvesting, distributing, processing and preserving the crops will follow, thanks to the work of students, faculty, staff, community members and members of the new WSU Vancouver Gardening Club. Ankeny will keep things organized, along with Hellegers, a student coordinator (currently junior Anthony Steele) and the Garden Advisory Committee.
“Our campus is considered a food desert, where students don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables,” Ankeny said. “The garden is an excellent sustainable food source for students, but it also offers job opportunities and an event space for students. It will be the site of cultural arts workshops, and it will help build community.”
Her enthusiasm and commitment are contagious. “Our goal is to increase traditional ecological practices and expand the access to traditional indigenous plants and foods for WSU Vancouver students, their families, Elders, and people with limited access to healthy food,” she said. “We value sustainable practices and consider future generations in all our choices.”
The long-term goal is to establish a multidisciplinary program at WSU Vancouver to integrate research, experiential learning, career training/job creation and community service to promote food system resilience in Southwest Washington.
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Pictured left to right: Native American Community Advisory Board members Roben White (Lakota/Cheyenne) and Emma Johnson (Cowlitz) turn over dirt at the June dedication for the Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge Garden.