Photo courtesy Alliance of Native Seedkeepers
An edible plant species known as pigweed (amaranth) is gluten-free and packed with protein. Able to reseed itself, it was eaten for centuries by American Indians.
While wild strains grow freely in the forest, there is a rarer domesticated variety of amaranth that is highly sought after. “The leaves are eaten as a leafy green vegetable,” says Victoria Ferguson, the manager of the Monacan Village at Natural Bridge State Park.
To Ferguson, a member of a coalition of food activists called the Alliance of Native Seedkeepers, plants like pigweed are more than just food. They are living, growing history.
Formed by members of the Monacan, Nottoway and Tuscarora tribes, the Alliance of Native Seedkeepers works to save specific, sometimes disappearing, varieties of indigenous crops and herbs important to their legacies, some with colorful names such as Skunk Pole Bean and Virginia Gourd Seed Corn. Members are currently growing rare corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, tobacco and more in fields and plots across Central Virginia — their largest is located at Epic Gardens in Bon Air.
“Our seeds are more than just food.” —Alliance member and seedkeeper Frank Cain
“We try not to use words like ‘preservation’ or ‘preserving,’ ” explains alliance member and seedkeeper from Skaroreh Katenuaka (in the Tuscarora Nation) Frank Cain.
“Preservation indicates keeping something stuck in time, which isn’t something we traditionally do. Our history and culture is still living, and thus so is our agriculture.”
Cain says that the stories behind the crops, passed down by generations, are important — and almost as old as the seeds. A specific red corn has a backstory that requires four long chapters to explain.
The planting process is also pertinent, Ferguson adds. “The tribes and tribal members who are involved work to protect and pass down the ancient ways of planting and protecting the seeds.”
Ferguson and her husband, Dean, have been collecting heirloom seeds for more than 20 years.
The Fergusons are currently working with the indigenous ecology program at Virginia Tech to grow an extremely rare heirloom crop called Strawberry Corn. They also acquired rare Nicotiana rustica tobacco seeds 22 years ago from the Shawnee tribe. Today, the duo is trying to keep those seeds alive.
The seeds they receive from other tribes, or through trades, occasionally come tagged with “last known sample” on the label. “No pressure,” Cain jokes.
Cain teaching members of Wolf Creek Cherokee how to braid Cherokee flour corn (Photo courtesy Alliance of Native Seedkeepers)
This season, the alliance will attempt to revive an endangered corn called Seneca Pink Lady, a unique eastern variety that contains mostly white seeds with pink caps, stripes and highlights — the original source is a Seneca woman named Ongwehias. “We are the last two sources in the world where this seed has not been catastrophically crossed with another variety of corn,” Cain says.
“These crops were everything to us,” explains Beth Roach, a council leader of the Nottoway Tribe, an alliance member and Cain’s fiance.
The food serves as a living link to past journeys. “These crops are part of what our people were cultivating for thousands of years and passing down,” Roach says. It helps to explain our ancestry in a tangible way.” She and Cain have plans to expand beyond the alliance’s current half acre at Epic Gardens. “We have tons of seeds but only a tiny apartment in Manchester,” says Roach, laughing.
With a rotating cast of 10 to 15 volunteers, the alliance holds work days at Epic Gardens that feature a subsequent potluck picnic. The nonprofit is actively recruiting green-thumbed assistants.The hope is that through the sale of future crops and seeds, they can turn their “seed sanctuary” into a self-sustaining full-time project.
Beyond Epic Gardens, there are heirloom plots planned for the Nottoway Community House in Capron — complete with signage that tells the story of each crop — and at the Monacan Village, where current fundraising efforts hope to revitalize depleted soil. The Wolf Creek Cherokee tribe and museum is also offering land and support, and the alliance is reaching out to members of other tribes including the Chickahominy, Pamunkey, Haliwa-Saponi, Skaroreh Katenuakaand Coharie.
“Our seeds are more than just food,” Cain says. “Certain varieties of corn, beans and squash are utilized for very specific ceremonies and dances, even making peace, weddings and [blessing] political agreements.”
He notes that entire civilizations developed based on these seeds.” For my people and for most of the native people of the Eastern seaboard, agriculture is absolutely central to our culture.”
