Keepers of the seeds…
A set of federal policies—including land alienation—in both Canada and the United States has caused the loss of our traditional seeds and foods. These laws limited our ability to sell our crops to non-Indians living in Manitoba. We have developed an indigenous northern seed network called the Upper Midwest Indigenous Seed Keepers Network to encourage the restoration of rare native cultivated seeds.
Seed of the Week
The Seed of the Week is a 15 minute long jam-packed Niijii radio, 89.9 broadcasted show focusing on one seed a week and also going into topics such as our seed industry, seed policy, seed cooperatives, plant breeding, seed saving techniques, plant traits, cooking and much more. With guest interviews and speeches from seed experts and our community. CLICK HERE to listen to shows!
Also, read the update to the 800 year Cool Old Squash story on the Niijii radio website or right here: Squash story.
White Earth Seed Library
Here at the White Earth Land Recovery Project, we’ve gathered up all of our previously saved seeds and created a community seed library. Our seed library work doesn’t solely consist of storing the seeds themselves: we also collect stories, documenting the rich history that accompanies each variety.
The White Earth Seed Library comprises just one branch of the Upper Midwest Indigenous Seed Keepers Network. We intend to solidify three White Earth Seed Library locations here on the White Earth Indian Reservation (Callaway, Naytahwaush, and White Earth Tribal and Technical College). We are currently storing our seeds at 607 Main Ave. Callaway, MN location. We are exploring indigenous seed storage systems as well.