Indigenous roots Arizona: Community garden aims to restore native plants for daily use
The garden has corn, squash, beans, lettuce, chili peppers, asparagus, carrots, tomatoes along with Navajo tea and some medicinal plants of Indigenous origin and tobacco.
By Katherine Locke
Navajo Hopi Observer
September 21, 2021
Excerpt:
One of the most important things about the Izabel Community Garden, according to Lasting Indigenous Family Enrichment Program Manager Carrie Dallas, is to understand what Indigenous people did from a holistic lens of working the land and providing food for their people.
“Working the land, utilizing the secret water, under the sun, the heat and the Earth is so tantalizing, invigorating and rejuvenating. It’s so ancient,” Dallas said. “We had to learn how to gather fruit berries, grass leaves, all these things that were so healthy for us to eat. Maybe they didn’t know they were so healthy, but they taste good.”
The Izabel Community Garden is part of a four-year grant from the Center for Prevention and Disease Control, which supports tribal practices to build resiliency and connections to family and culture, which, over time, will reduce risk factors for chronic disease, like diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer among Native American people. They are also stewards of the Colton Community Garden.
The LIFE program, through Native Americans for Community Action (NACA), provides educational services and community activities, such as planting a garden, which empower Indigenous culture, ignite community intergenerational connection, increase individual resilience and strengthen a Native person’s sense of belonging.
