WÓOTȞAŊIŊ PTEPTÉČELA / ROUND UP
Food the Lakȟóta Way
Over the summer, Red Cloud senior Jordan and junior Jade interned in the Farm to School program — learning how to take care of the soil, plant seeds for warm crops, scout for pests and monitor the drip irrigation system they installed for the school garden.
These paid internships teach students how to grow and harvest their own organic produce, increase their knowledge of Indigenous methods of food production and build a deeper understanding of Lakȟóta culture through principles like caring for Uŋčí Makȟá (Grandmother Earth).
Jade taught a lesson to first and third graders on how to make čheyáka tea, which is used for healing and in Lakȟóta ceremonies. She demonstrated how to harvest the mint leaves from the garden and soak them in a jar of water.
“I’ve enjoyed taking care of the plants and watching them grow, and providing fresh produce for people who need it,” Jade said about the program that donated 149 pounds of produce to the community this past spring. “We know where this food came from — here, on the reservation — not shipped in from some faraway place. It’s really important to have programs like this on the reservation because we’re connected with the food again.”
Jordan, who plans to study environmental science in college, worked with the Heritage Center’s artist-in-residence to build a medicine wheel out of mulch and native flowers for the COVID Memorial Garden — a living garden thriving with medicinal plants like sage, bergamot and echinacea.
“Seeing little flowers sprout up is really exciting because they’re native to this area and were used by my ancestors,” Jordan said. “It’s made me realize how much I enjoy being outside with nature. I like learning how everything’s connected with science, my traditional values and the Lakȟóta way.”
Help us take it to the next level — getting our produce into the school cafeteria.