In the heart of Northeast Portland lies a community garden that is much more than a collection of plants; it serves as a vital space for cultural reconnection and educational opportunities for Indigenous peoples.
Called Wapas Nah Née Shaku, meaning “Holding the basket” in Wasco, the garden occupies what was once a baseball field and now showcases an array of traditional medicine plants and ceremonial foods.
Lucy Racehorse Suppah, an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and half Shoshone Bannock, oversees the Indigenous food sovereignty program at the Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA).
The garden was funded by a $3.6 million investment from the Portland Clean Energy Fund in 2022, emphasizing agricultural and green infrastructure that allows for traditional practices to flourish.
Suppah emphasized the significance of reconnecting Indigenous communities with their cultural and agricultural roots, a process that has been systematically disrupted through colonization.
“There’s been a long history of disconnection or an attempt to disconnect us from our identity and our culture,” she stated.
In her role, Suppah aims to provide access to traditional food practices, emphasizing that this garden is about sovereignty and self-determination.
Across the United States, there has been a growing movement aimed at reclaiming Indigenous food practices.
Many Indigenous communities lost access to their ancestral lands due to forced removals, broken treaties, and assimilation tactics aimed at Native American children through government boarding schools.
The NAYA garden stands as a testament to the resurgence of traditional food systems and practices that have not been lost but rather hindered.
Sanford, a member of the Sappony Tribe from North Carolina, elaborated on the importance of traditional tobacco cultivation distinct from commercial tobacco.
“This plant is relative to me, and I want to create connection and communication with this plant,” he explained, highlighting the cultural and medicinal significance of traditional tobacco.
The garden features both traditional and contemporary food sources, including common produce like tomatoes and peppers, known as the market garden, alongside native plants such as chokecherries and Inchelium Red garlic.
Suppah describes these native foods as First Foods, which hold significant historical and cultural value for Indigenous people and were foundational to their diets prior to colonization.
Access to these foods is especially crucial in urban environments like Portland, where many Native Americans do not have the means to gather traditional foods from their ancestral territories.
The NAYA site is particularly rich in cultural heritage, as it is located near the historical tribal fishing village of Neerchokikoo, which was a gathering place for the Chinook Tribe and various Pacific Northwest tribes.
Given this history, the garden not only serves local Indigenous communities but resonates with a broader cultural narrative that includes various tribal traditions, necessitating a tailored approach to ensure representation of diverse practices.
“We are not a monoculture as Native Americans; we are a highly diverse people,” Suppah remarked, pointing out the importance of honoring different tribal practices within the educational workshops held at the garden.
Participation in the garden is open to all, not just Native folk, as emphasized by NAYA’s chief advancement officer Paul Lumley.
“You don’t have to be Native to come here and participate as a volunteer or to partake in some of the food that we’re growing or the medicines,” he shared, illustrating a community spirit rooted in inclusivity.
The sharing of food and traditional knowledge is underway, but Suppah acknowledges the challenge of overcoming centuries of disruption to cultural practices, stating, “It’s gonna take just as much to reverse it” as the time lost.
Despite the formidable challenges, both Suppah and Sanford express hope for the future.
“The knowledge being planted today could yield fruits for generations to come,” Suppah noted, emphasizing the intergenerational impact of these revitalization efforts.
The NAYA community garden is ultimately a setting where the healing of past wounds can begin through the nurturing of traditional foods, teaching, and community engagement, forging pathways to reclaim Indigenous identity and sovereignty in urban settings.
image source from：opb
