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Seed Rematriation
By Rowen White
to begin with posted August 21 , 2016
I am sit here in front of my hereditary cum collection . Rows of carefully placed colorful cobs of corn : sacred ‘ Mohawk Red ’ bread corn that looks like juicy pomegranate jewel ; ‘ Six Nations ’ blue corn whisky whose inwardness are lined up in 8 straight rows of dark glasses of grey , slate , and nearly purplish ; multi - colored ‘ Seneca Calico ’ clavus whose pearlescent seeded player - coating catch the light of the easterly morning ; jars of beans , some speckle and resemble bird eggs , others down-to-earth and mimic soft buckskin ; all invisibly pulse with the dynamic life vigor that infuse us all .
I experience so honored to roll in the hay these seeds and solid food that have feed my ancestors for generations , since the dawning of agriculture in the Northeast woodlands . I am a Mohawk woman , from a belittled community of interests called Akwesasne , which sits upon the banks of the St. Lawrence River , and straddles the New York / Canadian borderline . Our clan is one of six nations that make up the Iroquois confederacy , yet we know ourselves not as Iroquois but as Haudenosaunee : People of the Longhouse .
Our hoi polloi are well known for their unique agricultural planting method , known by many as “ Three Sisters . ” This indigenous polyculture planting method of corn , noodle and squash , reinforces the collaborative nature of inter - planting , where all three craw types work together in harmony to bring abundance in the garden .
I always had an affinity for the garden , and at 17 began to apprentice on an constitutive farm . On the farm , I began to learn about the importance of biodiversity , and learned for the first time about heirloom seeds . Knowing my ascendant were agricultural mass , I began to question : Who was still growing our heritage source ? What screen of corn , beans and squash varieties were out there that had been plant and selected within “ Three Sisters ” polyculture over the last many 100 ?
I drop six months on the road , get together seeds and tale from the few remaining traditional gardeners . Seeing that it was mostly elder who were keeping these seeds alive , I knew that it was the responsibility of my generation to step up and deal for these seeds , as so many had done before me .
I ca n’t avail but imagine the rich journey of these seeds through the ages , the perseverance through the tumultuous story of displacement and raw beginnings , of migration and relocation , of dear and expiration , of kudos and heartbreak ; the aliment they provide for those who take the time to manage , beyond the prejudice of civilization or color . source are glorious talisman of teemingness that prompt generosity and connexion , healing and forgiveness . The seeds have been witnesses to the past times , exceed from hired man to hand in so many different context and cultures , accommodate to different soils and ways of refinement . The seed nourish vivacious histories and geographies of the heart .
About : Rowen White is a Seed Keeper from the Mohawk residential area of Akwesasne and a passionate activist for germ reign . She is the director and founder of Sierra Seeds , an innovative constitutive seed conjunct focusing on local seed product and education , based in Nevada City , California . In July 2016 , White was named Chair of the Seed Savers Exchange display board of directors .
This clause in the beginning appeared in the Heritage Farm Companion , the Seed Savers Exchange member publishing . Learn more about becoming a extremity .
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