Planting the past

Cherokee Nation preserves its cultural roots with seed distribution program

Pat Gwin, Director of the Cherokee Nation Natural Resources Department and organismic biologist, set out on a seed scavenger hunt. He spoke to “corn scholars” across the nation to locate seeds that have been planted and harvested by the Cherokee for centuries. He found a genetic specimen of corn in the panhandle of Oklahoma, the ceremonial tobacco from an institution in Minneapolis.

Corn, bean, tobacco, and squash seeds were sown on the land of the Cherokee tribal government complex in Tahlequah. Gwin’s team scrutinized each plant, making sure that the genetic profiles fit the traditional descriptions.

“A lot of different sources added to what we thought would be a well-rounded group of crops,” Gwin said. “We work very hard to ensure that the seeds we produce are genetically pure.”

The Cherokee seeds are considered heirloom seeds, or open-pollinated. That means no bioengineering, no hybridization — just a pure genetic specimen of the seeds planted by humankind for generations. Now Cherokee gardeners can connect with their agricultural heritage by growing crops planted from the tribe’s heirloom seed bank.

“In more archaic Cherokee culture, one would not have separated their daily lives with interaction with the environment,” Gwin said. “Everybody grew their own food because that is the way society operated. It’s an extension to being a Cherokee.”

The program distributes thousands of seed packets to tribe members interested in growing traditional Cherokee crops. Cultivation of these rare plants assures genetic preservation and maintains a vital component of Cherokee history. The seed bank is more than a storehouse; it is a bastion for the past, literally rooted in the present.

Crops like rattlesnake pole beans, turkey gizzard beans, and buffalo gourds have poetic names for otherwise humble plants. The Trail of Tears beads, a type of corn also known as "Job's tears," grow along the 1838 trail for which they are named. As loved ones died, the tribal women cried. Everywhere the tears dropped corn bead plants are said to have grown. Teardrop seeds sprout from the top of each stalk and are sometimes fashioned into jewelry.

The modern term for the Cherokee method of agriculture is “companion gardening,” but the Cherokee are more descriptive. The Three Sisters reside in a traditional Cherokee corn patch — squash, beans, and corn. Corn is the focal point, planted first in spring. After the corn is old enough, beans are planted. Squash encircles the garden as a protective barrier along the ground, keeping weeds at bay.

“When you use the Cherokee names for these crops, you aren’t naming them, you are describing them — describing what they do, describing their life story, and describing their role in nature,” Gwin said.

The Cherokee Seed Bank distribution dovetails with Cherokee Nation initiatives to help tribe members get active and regain a relationship with the land. Growing healthy food is part of that, but these heirloom crops do not have the same flavor profiles of their modern counterparts. Today’s fruits and vegetables have been engineered to taste a certain way, to look a certain way, and to last longer. It’s not how the harvest was traditionally used.

“Crops were not grown so you could have really nice, tasty corn on cob. Corn was grown to keep you alive in the wintertime when nothing else was available to eat,” Gwin said. “Beans were not grown to be snapped green and put in a big pot of ham. Beans were grown to be dried and eaten when things got lean.”

The Georgia Candy Roaster is one of the most popular and tasty heirloom crops, which can be prepared as squash, sweet potatoes, or pumpkin and, according to Gwin, makes for “excellent table fare.”

Cherokees have been planting these seeds in gardens all over the country and as far away as Nigeria since the bank started distributing six years ago. Many schools with community gardens use the Cherokee heritage plants as an opportunity to learn about the tradition of the tribe, to look beyond the seed and the science. If there is availability, the Cherokee Nation will offer seeds to schools this month.