Relying on knowledge passed through grandparents, the Original People’s Garden features plants the Ojibwe people of the Woodlands and Great Lakes regions use as foods and medicines.
Co-curator, Naawakweose, chose plants that are meaningful to him and his stories. The exhibit focuses on Ojibwe plant traditions from Naawakweose's perspectives as an Ojibwe seed keeper.
Illustrations by Naawakweose/Mashkiki Studios
About Anishinaabeg Gitigaan "The Original People's Garden"
For Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) tribes and many other Native and Indigenous communities, the practice and maintenance of traditional customs are vital components of daily life. These communities have historically worked in tandem with nature to protect, honor and sustain its sacredness and abundance. The Ojibwe people have traditionally thrived through fishing, maple sugaring, harvesting wild rice and cultivating crops such as corn and squash. Historically, they relied on a seasonal, nomadic lifestyle centered on lakes to meet their daily needs and create a thriving trade economy.
For many Ojibwe people, food is closely connected to spiritual life. “The Original People’s Garden” reflects the principles and practices carried on from generation to generation.
“Everything is done with ecological sustainability, and it’s also a huge part of our worldview as Indigenous people. Everything we do is thinking seven generations ahead of us,” Naawakweose said.
Visiting the Exhibit
This garden exhibit is located in the Teaching Garden. It runs from June 1 through the harvest season and is included with daily general admission, which is free for members and children 15 and under and $20 for non-members.
About Marique “Miriguá Miásh” Moss
Moss is an Afro-Indigenous poet, educator, legal scholar, cultural strategist, and enrolled member of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, with Dakota roots in Saskatchewan. She holds degrees in Native American Studies and Indigenous Peoples Law and is committed to reclaiming narratives, building equity and uplifting community through culturally-grounded approaches. Marique’s traditional name is Woman in the Water (Miriguá Miásh). She has written on issues including missing and murdered Indigenous women, the Indian Child Welfare Act, American Indian education and black liberation. Her most recent book is “My Afro-Indigenous Superpower.”
About Naawakweose
Among many roles, as an educator implementing Indigenous Education for All in Minnesota, Naawakweose teaches schools and the public about Ojibwe plant traditions. Through this program, he and Moss co-curated a Three Sisters Garden at Fort Snelling in partnership with the Minnesota Historical Society through the Native American Initiatives Program, a space that holds deep significance within ongoing truth and reconciliation efforts.