Tending the Wild: Launching the Native Food Plant Program
Naked-stemmed biscuitroot (Lomatium nudicaule) with delightfully crunchy carrot-flavored leaves. (Picture by Linda Thomas)
By Brian Geier, Education Program Coordinator
Way back, in the B.C. era (before-COVID), in February, we planned the “Tending the Wild: Native Food Plant Workshop”, which was to be the first public event of the Vesper Meadow Education Programs' Native Food Plant Program (NFPP). The initial workshop's name is from the book “Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California's Resources” by M. Kat Anderson. The book presents a wealth of information on traditional land management practices that challenges the hunter-gatherer stereotype long-perpetuated in anthropological and historical literature, and details a fascinating and persuasive case that traditional ecological knowledge must be centered in efforts to live sustainably.
Camas lily in full bloom, is one of the primary root crops that was cultivated by native peoples throughout the northwest. Before the last two centuries of livestock grazing at Vesper Meadow, the land was managed for thousands of years for the cultivation of Camas and other native food plants. Today, we are working with Indigenous partners to restore the human connection with this plant and the land.
Latgawa, Takelma, Shasta, Klamath and other native groups have cultivated food plants in Vesper Meadow and/or surrounding lands for thousands of years, shaping the landscape. Now, after 150 years of impact to these plants by settlers, we are working with a diverse network of partners to help restore native food plant populations by inspiring a human-land relationship of stewardship. In that effort, the “Tending the Wild” workshop was offered as a way for participants to learn more about the history of this food-rich place, to experience hands-on techniques for using wild and native plants for food, and to discuss the ethics of wildcrafting. The initial event filled quickly, and interest on social media soared, indicating a high level of interest in learning about native food plants together!
Of course, the pandemic shifted plans for us all. No longer could we plan to hold a hands-on workshop with tools and materials being passed around. As part of that shift, Brian, our Native Food Plant Specialist, created and released a video that covers 13 ethical considerations for those of you interested in using native plants for food, and some tools and techniques that you might find helpful in bringing these plants into your kitchen. Check it out here.
On Sunday, May 24th, 2020, a small group of participants joined us at Vesper Meadow for a “socially-distant plant walk”. We gathered, masks on, in a large circle, as Jeanine discussed some of the history of the Meadow as a food tending and harvesting place. We then hiked to see monitoring and treatment plots, establishment trials, and dozens of species of native food plants in the meadow, on the forest hill, and along Latgawa Creek. We discussed Vesper Meadow Education Program efforts including Camas lily monitoring plots, treatment experiments with tarps and mulch to rid areas of noxious, non-native grasses and make way for future plantings of native plants, and planting areas with seeds and young transplants (including the beginning of our elderberry-picking patch). The hikes included discussions of berry plants (elderberry, serviceberry), salad greens (“miner's lettuce”), trail nibbles (Douglas fir tips), morel mushrooms, and edible roots (“biscuit-roots” like Lomatium dissectum).
We appreciate everyone's interest in native food plants and your patience as we shift programs to stay safe and socially-distant. If you want to join us for future events, be sure to like and follow us on Facebook or Instagram, or make sure you are on our mailing list (link?). And if you have any ideas for future Native Food Plant Program events, please email Brian at sourpowerky@gmail.com.
The Next Steps for Vesper Meadow’s Native Food Plant Program
At Vesper Meadow, we are privileged to be close with the land and are honored to tend to it for both the benefit of wildlife habitat and sustained human connection. In recognition of our post-colonial society and the legacy of injustices toward Native peoples of this region, we feel that it is our duty to support Indigenous-led initiatives. Currently, we are working with Southern Oregon University’s Native American Studies Department to establish an exciting new collaborative:
The Southwestern Oregon (SWO) Indigenous Gardens Network (IGN)
A place-based, Indigenous-led partnership to repair, maintain, and restore historic Indigenous Gardens so that First Foods and other cultural plants of significance can be cultivated, harvested, and made accessible to Native Peoples (Tribes with aboriginal claims to SWO evidenced by ceded lands, treaties, and case law; local Native people; Tribal organizations; and Tribal youth). Indigenous Gardens are where Native Peoples cultivated and harvested First Foods as part of an ancestral system of knowledge and place-based food culture. These gardens continue to exist in SWO on conservation lands held in-trust, public lands, and private properties even though the First Foods remain largely untended for over 200 years. The IGN will mobilize existing SWO partnerships between Southern Oregon University, local schools, native plant growers, land managers, and conservation groups to increase the capacity for restoring Indigenous Gardens in SWO; address barriers that make it challenging for Tribes to access SWO land and First Foods; provide funding to Native Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) and First Food practitioners/food producers/farmers who will serve as consultants, planners, and steering committee members; support the cultivation of new practitioners/food producers/farmers; and offer assistance in the form of facilitation, community networking, and financial and technical support. This innovative community building, place-based, and experiential learning network aims to address the urgent issues of food security and climate change and support Indigenous practices of food sovereignty, ceremony, story, and kinship.
The Southwestern Oregon Indigenous Gardens Network will serve Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) practitioners from communities with representatives living in both rural and urban centers including Eugene, Salem, and Portland, Ashland, and Medford, Oregon.
A Commitment to Native Leadership
The IGN will cultivate Native leadership through:
Develop respectful partnerships with Native communities to create long-term visions for Native leadership with a focus on community involvement and direction; buy-in and commitment from Tribes; and oversight from Native people in assessing needs and program direction to assure effectiveness.
Invest in Native leaders who are well-versed in their tribal culture. IGN will affirm Native identities, perspectives, and worldviews in program design, research, curriculum, and technical/professional development opportunities.
Provide resources for Native people to tell their stories, share with others in their community, and build technical and professional skills in communications and media outreach.
Create research, evaluation, and assessment tools to measure the successes and challenges to Native leadership in IGN, which will inform program development and disseminate best-practices and long-term impacts.
Invest in Native youth leadership development and mentoring relationships with elders and professionals working in TEK.
Invest in Native governance by continually increasing the capacity of Native peoples to govern the IGN.
If you would like to support our work, please consider making a donation to support the development of the Indigneous Garden Network: