Land Stewardship
The Native Foodways Program supports and manifests a vision of Indigenous health and wellness that extends from seed to plate, soil to sky, song to recipe, and ancestors to future generations. Foundational to this vision is a practice of land stewardship that promotes a reciprocal restoration of ecological health and cultural lifeways.
We are responsible to two growing sites – Heron Shadow and the Indian Valley Organic Farm & Garden – in the unceded territory of the Southern Pomo and Coast Miwok peoples of the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.
Through our farming and tending work at these sites, we cultivate growing systems that are:
Staff Farmer Ben Schleffar examines Seneca Onëo-gen at the Indian Valley Organic Farm & Garden at the College of Marin in Novato, California
Rooted in cultural practices and principles, from basket weaving to harvest ceremonies
Guided by the wisdom of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and adaptive Indigenous farming traditions, including polycultures, dry farming, agroforestry, and prescribed burning
Integrated with regenerative sustainable farming methods, including low-till and rotational grazing
Our land stewardship work provides the base from which we distribute food, save seed, harvest medicines and materials, and provide land access and educational resources for our community.
Our team with produce donated by Green Gulch Farm that we distributed to Native community partners throughout the San Francisco Bay Area