We can plant the seeds

By Sarah DeLaronde, 2nd year MDP student

Tansi niwahkomakanak, Sarah DeLaronde nisinikason. Hello, my relatives, my name is Sarah DeLaronde. For my second blog post, I was trying to wrap up my field placement in a good way. 

 

Working with seeds and learning more about food sovereignty has been a really valuable experience. Ininiwikistayikewin is about putting seeds back into the hands of the people, to me that means less dependency on colonial systems and more reliability on our capacity as Indigenous people. We live with a blood memory of sovereignty and intimate connection with the land, even if we've been removed from our families and our cultures. But it’'s about more than seeds, it's about revitalizing relationships we have to not only the land but to the people and the true meaning of what it means to be a good relative. 

 

I had the opportunity to visit with Audrey Logan, a local land steward here in Treaty 1 territory. They live with some very inhibiting injuries, however the need to provide their community with accessible, good food and with the key knowledge to grow their own - supersedes everything. The seed library and other Indigenous food sovereignty projects can disrupt food insecurity even when there is only room for small garden plots in spaces like downtown Winnipeg. Audrey says, “Land back, but what're you going to do with it?” I say, we can plant the seeds.