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Pettaquamscutt Community Gardens is an Indigenous-led, multigenerational non-profit garden that uses traditional ancestral practices and heirloom seeds with a focus on the Three Sisters Garden: corn, beans, and squash. The project is led by Indigenous community members, including Shirley Brown, 溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardener, Class of 2022, and a Narragansett Tribal elder. She\u2019s keeping Narragansett traditions alive and well, and this year, partnering with volunteers from the 溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardener Program to help support and expand the garden\u2019s capacity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe Pettaquamscutt Community Gardens are focused on restoring the natural law and balance of Mother Earth, living in harmony with the Creator\u2019s natural elements, promoting food sovereignty and health and wellness through community involvement,\u201d says Wayne Everett, founder of Pettaquamscutt Community Gardens, also a Master Gardener, Class of 2022. \u201cThe Narragansetts are an acknowledged tribe by Congress, and we embed our ancient ancestral knowledge and traditional growing methods to teach, preserve, and revitalize our culture and way of life. Others are invited to join us in this healing process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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\u201cWhat makes it special is the preservation and revitalization of our culture, a window to our ancestral traditions and way of life,\u201d says Sonia Thomas, a board member of Pettaquamscutt Community Gardens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m very proud of these partnerships,\u201d says Vanessa Venturini, program leader for 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Master Gardener Program. \u201cWe have emphasized the importance of ancestral knowledge alongside research-based knowledge, a somewhat revolutionary act for the Cooperative Extension \/ Land Grant University system.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She credits Dinalyn Spears \u201995 (MG \u201915), the Narragansett Indian Tribe\u2019s director of community planning & natural resources, for teaching about Indigenous uses of native plants as well as the Narragansett Indian Tribe\u2019s food sovereignty efforts in the Master Gardener course. The 溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardener Program is also working alongside the Narragansett Indian Tribe to support their food sovereignty efforts at a tribal farm in Westerly and a greenhouse and community garden in Charlestown. The Narragansett Indian Tribe created an Agricultural Division under its Community Planning & Natural Resources department in 2019 to continue its food sovereignty efforts to provide access to traditionally grown food by using traditional indigenous agricultural methods in the Narragansett Indian Tribal community.<\/p>\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\u201cOne of the priorities of the Narragansett Indian Food Sovereignty Program is to incorporate the historical connection the Narragansett people had with the land and the food that sustains us,\u201d she says. \u201cThe goal of the Narragansett Indian Food Sovereignty Program is to provide access to healthy food which in turn will provide for the health and well being of the Tribal community through sustainable agriculture, community involvement, education, and economic development.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last year, Cooperative Extension\u2019s Master Gardener training program also expanded to pilot a new \u201cIndigenous foods\u201d module, inviting individuals with traditional ecological knowledge to serve as instructors in an effort to honor equally scientific and ancestral knowledge. The module came out of focused work in the Master Gardener Program to better represent and serve the diverse population of Rhode Island with a focus on social justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is an ongoing effort,\u201d states Venturini. \u201cWe\u2019ll continue to support food sovereignty efforts around the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Added efforts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 溏心vlog免费B站 Cooperative Extension grows seedlings for Indigenous-led gardens in the 溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardener donation greenhouse and also hosted a popular group read of the book Braiding Sweetgrass<\/em> that drew more than 70 extension volunteers, faculty, and staff in partnership with the Tomaquag Museum, to explore Indigenous wisdom, scientific knowledge, and the teachings of plants. Participants said the experience increased their commitment to learn more about Indigenous knowledge and local foodways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several also said they were inspired to consider volunteering with a local Indigenous-led project. Jeanne Sovet is one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sovet is a 溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardener, Class of 2024, who made the Pettaquamscutt Community Gardens a focus of her growing work this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wanted to help,\u201d she says of volunteering in her first year. The Exeter resident says she came to the Master Gardener Program with an interest in Native American culture and helping people in need. She found the chance to work with members of the local Indigenous community as instructive as her Master Gardener training.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sovet began working at the gardens in the spring, joining with Brown, a Narragansett tribal elder and also a 溏心vlog免费B站 Master Gardener. Brown\u2019s son, Wayne Everett, Quenikom Pau Muckquashim (Standing Wolf), built the garden with natural logs and made beds out of tree trunks, logs, and stumps, with other Tribal and community members.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Brown, Sovet, and other community members started planting on May 17, the traditional planting date for the gardens, Sovet says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The day is the birthday of Brown\u2019s mother, Mildred (n\u00e9e Johnson) (Hopkins) Everett, Wesu Nquit (Great One).<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe reason for planting on my mother’s birthday is fitting as it symbolizes the legacy of my grandparents, great grandparents, great, great grandparents and so on,\u201d says Brown. \u201cWe\u2019re honoring our ancestors’ heritage of farming these lands from generations back. As we know Chief Canonchet to have done when he walked these lands we\u2019ve always known as Pettaquamscutt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe plant, grow and harvest heirloom seeds, our traditional Narragansett White Cap Flint Corn, Narragansett Succotash Pole Beans and Narragansett Butternut Squash,\u201d she adds, the \u2018Three Sisters,\u2019 important both traditionally and for companion planting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The large gardens also include beans, swiss chard, kale, pole beans, eggplant, strawberries, celery, and herbs and more; Brown saves the seeds year to year. They also plant flowers and plants that attract pollinators and other beneficial insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the food grown is donated to marginalized communities, the New Jonnycake Center for Hope Food Pantry in South Kingstown, the Narragansett Indian Tribal Senior Meal Site, and local businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sovet, who volunteered weekly at the gardens with Claudette Baril, says she would encourage more people to help at Pettaquamscutt or any other native garden. She says being a part of the gardens and learning of its larger goals spurred her on; she plans to return next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Celebrating the harvest<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the highlights for Sovet was the \u201cSecond Annual Culturally Grown, Multi-Generational Workshop\u201d held at the gardens over the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was a celebration of the community and culture,\u201d Sovet says of the July celebration, which included a fire, dancing, and singing. \u201cMembers of the Narragansett tribe came and cooked the veggies we grew in the garden and it was all so good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At the gathering, Brown, whose Narragansett name is Wekineaquat, meaning Fair Weather, gave visitors a tour of the squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and watermelon patches, explaining the value of companion planting. Shynin Anockqus (Star) Thomas gave a presentation of The Three Sisters explaining companion planting and how corn, beans and squash complement each other. Jennifer Blunt gave a presentation on the Pollinating Garden and its role encouraging the growth of the garden’s plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Beyond the bounty and the chance to learn more about ancestral growing methods, Sovet, a retired teacher, says she most enjoyed the chance to be a student and learn from Brown and other members of the Narragansett Tribe. Learning about the seed saving that happens, year after year, made an impression on her, reminding her of the agricultural lineage in this part of Rhode Island, how it has continued and can continue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSeeing the traditional seeds passed down year after year is really incredible,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the year ahead, the gardens will rotate crops and start a new season of collaborative growth \u2014 on May 17, as is tradition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Master Gardener Program was established to educate Rhode Islanders in environmentally sound gardening practices. Over 800 volunteers serve as community-based educators across the state while welcoming diverse perspectives in gardening. Learn more about the 溏心vlog免费B站 Cooperative Extension <\/em>Master Gardener Program<\/em><\/a> at 溏心vlog免费B站 or about the Pettaquamscutt Community Gardens at their <\/em>Facebook page<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Dec. 30, 2024 \u2013 As 溏心vlog免费B站 students and employees departed campus for winter break, concluding the fall semester \u2014 and harvest season \u2014 溏心vlog免费B站\u2019s Cooperative Extension celebrated its work partnering with Indigenous-led food sovereignty organizations. Just two miles from campus is the Pettaquamscutt Community Gardens, a non-profit organization on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":99536,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-99535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99535"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99535\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99542,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99535\/revisions\/99542"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}