Native Inclusion at the SAP
Native students are often overlooked at Grand Valley. Many are attending the University while far from home, and do not have a space to gather together with community members to share knowledge, practice traditions, engage in ceremony etc. The Sustainable Agriculture Project, as part of the University’s campus, would be the most ideal location for the Indigenous students to establish an intentional space. The project will include a garden, teaching lodge, fire pit, and informational signs in the Anishinaabemowin language. These elements will augment the objective to allow Indigenous students to practice their traditions on a culturally appropriate space.
This project is a collaborative effort between the Native American Student Association (NASA), Native American Advisory Council, Sustainable Agriculture Project (SAP), Lin Bardwell, Dr. Riley-Mukavets, Farm Club, and Student Environmental Coalition (SEC); with the approval of the SAP Advisory Council. We propose the construction of a space on the SAP for Indigenous students, faculty/staff, and community members to make their own.
The principal objective of the teaching lodge and medicine garden is to create Indigenous space on campus. It will serve as a space for ceremonies, cultural activities, and to sustain relationships with non-Indigenous allies and advocates.
Members of the Native American Student Association have expressed that one of the biggest challenges of attending the University for Indigenous students is the lack of access to ceremonial buildings, medicines, or community. This project addresses this need, by providing a space for Indigenous students, faculty and community members in the greater Grand Rapids area to connect.
The space would feature a Teaching Lodge (similar to what is shown in the image to the right), which would be used for events, seminars, education, and connecting Indigenous students at GVSU with the local Native community. The lodge is made of 30 Maple saplings, shrink wrap, tarps, and basswood straps.
Project Origin
This project is a long term collaborative effort between Dr. Riley-Mukavets, NASA, and the Sustainable Agriculture Project. The seed for this project was planted in the Winter semester of 2020, when students in Dr. RM's "Wicked Problems of Sustainability" course invested in conversations involving Indigenous land repatriation and decolonization. The class outlined possible project ideas concerning Indigenous visibility on campus. Those ideas were then further pursued in Fall 2020 by students in the "Anishinaabek Lifeways" course. With Dr. RM's guidance, the students wrote and presented a proposal to Yumi Jakobcic that delineated a plan to repatriate a section of GVSU land to Indigenous people. Yumi provided us with feedback on the proposal and an amended proposal will formally be presented to the SAP Advisory Council by early April, 2021.
The What
Ultimately, the goal of this proposal is to establish a permanent place on campus focused on inclusivity, education, and celebration of Native heritage. This Native Space will be located on GVSU’s Sustainable Agriculture Project, and feature a garden bed for growing traditional plants, an open-air Teaching Lodge with a firepit for hosting cultural events and seminars, and in the future potentially a larger Wigwaam structure. This space will ideally provide a safe and sacred space designed to be used by existing students as well as a focal point for bringing more Indigenous students to GVSU. The Native Space will be designed to allow Native students to engage with a learning environment that fosters hands-on and land-based learning, which is more in line with traditional learning systems than standard University settings. This project will also establish a paid internship for a Native student to be the caretaker of this space and to work with the other SAP interns and advance their knowledge of sustainable agriculture as well as their connection to their culture. To accomplish these goals, we have identified the following objectives:
Designate an intentional space to be set aside on the SAP for Indigenous cultural practices.
Ensure that the Native Space is private and protected from vandalism through signs and education of non-Native students.
Ensure that Native students have control and jurisdiction over the land.
Construct a garden bed to be used by the Native American Student Association that can connect Native students to traditional plants and herbs.
Construct a Teaching Lodge for seminars and cultural events.
Secure space and pursue funding for adding a Wigwaam in the future.
Foster inclusivity and celebrate native culture on campus.
Connect native students with one another and with native community members.
The Why
The sustainable agriculture project is the perfect place to construct a Native Space space since it allows for the Indigenous students to produce their own foods and medicines, learn Indigenous agricultural practices, as well as carry those skills with them after they graduate. The Native student garden would also benefit from tools and resources already available at the SAP. Students would feel more comfortable visiting the farm if there was space for them to grow and practice land-based learning, which is more akin to traditional Native education than classroom settings. Along with gaining traditional knowledge, Indigenous students would be able to attend ceremonies at the teaching lodge and/or wigwaam throughout the four seasons.
Additionally, the University would benefit from a space that influences more cultural awareness for the non-Native faculty and students. This project will bring visibility to Indigenous people on and off campus. The wigwaam, medicines, traditional knowledge, and ceremonies are a vital part of cultural continuance and revitalization for Indigenous people. This brings a unique perspective to the GVSU community that has never been experienced before. The space will bring attention to the existence of Indigenous people while providing Indigenous people with forms of resistance.
This project also involves land repatriation. Land repatriation is a form of decolonization where land is where land is returned to its original, Indigenous people. The SAP will be enacting land repatriation by giving the land back to Indigenous people for use under their own jurisdiction. Part of the land repatriation is emphasizing that the space will focus on nurturing Indigenous people and will give them a space to practice their culture.
In order to achieve cultural continuance, there needs to be a space that allows Native students to practice their culture and traditions. This project offers this experience, which has never been offered before at Grand Valley.
Student Engagement
Considering this is a student-led project that aims to improve the health, education, and professionalization of Indigenous students, it is fitting to develop an internship opportunity for Indigenous students as well. The intern responsibilities will include frequent management of the structures and maintenance of the garden space, as well as keeping in contact with Indigenous students, staff, and community members regarding events and activities.
Taking into account the fact that Indigenous students are often asked to educate settlers on campus without compensation or recognition, this paid internship experience will provide students with a professional and educational opportunity that will have lasting benefits post-graduation. They will include 100 working hours that are accredited and transferable to Michigan Universities.
With the breadth of responsibilities, we believe that two separate internships should be implemented to support this ongoing work.
The first internship will take place during the Spring/Summer semesters, from May through August. Their duties include garden development, planting, and maintenance; as well as building and rebuilding the wigwaam and organizing ceremonial events.
The second internship will begin in September and continue through April, during the Fall/Winter semesters. This intern will be responsible for maintaining the wigwaam, organizing events at the space - such as Sugar Bush in February and March - sowing seeds in the Spring and maintaining the garden. Such activities, or other ceremonies or events, will work to connect Native students at GVSU around the SAP, facilitated largely by NASA and the Native SAP intern.
Educational Opportunities
Indigenous people are often overlooked and are one of the most unrecognized communities. Since they hold a small percentage of the student body they are often considered statistically insignificant by larger institutional structures. This reality, coupled with their position as tribal nation peoples, often leaves Indigenous people left out of academic conversations involving the history of white supremacy, and they are not offered culturally-appropriate spaces for healing and justice. This project is designed to make the possibilities for Indigenous land repatriation in a University setting more visible. It also provides a tangible model for community knowledge sharing, and what it looks like for Universities to collaborate with tribal nations.
This project allows students to work with language experts, develop signs in the Anishinaabemowin language, and create a physical space for educators, students, staff and community members to collaborate and share knowledge. This project allows students to practice and learn through an Anishinaabek paradigm, offering an alternative to the western paradigm found in University classrooms.
Year to year, NASA will have full control over the use of the garden, from selecting which plants or herbs to grow, to deciding how to use that produce, but NASA is currently most interested in developing a 'generous economy' model, focusing on offering the produce as gifts and donating them for elder meals in Indigenous communities.
Whatever NASA chooses to cultivate, the garden as well as the ceremonial building will be excellent locations for Native students to connect with their heritage. With the invitation of NASA, non-Native students may have opportunities to engage with this space and Native culture. A potential plan for the garden has suggested implementing the traditional 'Three Sisters' growing technique: interplanting corn, beans, and squash to grow symbiotically in a small amount of space. This, or other traditional native growing techniques, will further the SAP's effectiveness as a hands-on educational workshop, as well as open the space to a wider audience of students. The Native space at the SAP will be a location for inclusive and practical education.
Collaboration
While this space is intended to be private for Native students to connect with their culture, there will be an inherent reciprocal relationship developed between Native students - largely through NASA, and the existing SAP community. Their are many cultural and agricultural clubs and organizations on campus that would likely have an interest in event collaboration with NASA using this space. Additionally, the SAP manager, Michael Hinkle, is enthusiastic about our project and wants to see this space develop and grow alongside the rest of the SAP. The NASA intern will also have the opportunity to work and learn alongside the other SAP interns, and receive hands-on guidance and support from the SAP manager. We believe that this space will allow opportunities for education, connection, and inclusion for Native students at GVSU for years to come. A larger Native presence at the SAP will strengthen ties between Native and non-native students. There has also been discussion of a Native faculty or staff member joining the SAP advisory council, so that collaboration and advocacy can be pursued at higher levels in the university.
We also hope that this space will allow Native students to form connections to nearby Native knowledge and communities. Our team has been in contact with multiple Native community members with knowledge of traditional agriculture and construction, and our hope is that (especially in the future when COVID risks have been reduced, but being an outdoor site should assist with social distancing) Native speakers from the area can come and share their wisdom with GVSU students. NASA has also expressed that a likely use for the produce from their garden will be used as gifts or donated for elder meals in tribal communities, which will further facilitate building relationships between the GVSU and Native communities. We believe that an intentional space for Native students to gather, learn, and form connections will be an invaluable addition to the Sustainable Agriculture Project and be a lasting resource for Native students. One of the purposes of the Sustainable Agriculture Project is to grow the community, and building bridges between Western sustainable practices and traditional Indigenous sustainable practices will be extremely beneficial for everyone. Cultivating and nurturing this relationship allows for better understanding, more appreciation, and greater community strength.
Budget
Budget Item Amount
Personnel
Project Intern $1200
Community Knowledge
Keepers $400
Resources
Seeds [gift]
Teaching Lodge $2000
Language Signs $60
Medicine Garden $1000
Sub Total $4660
Teaching Lodge
The materials needed to construct the teaching lodge will include: 30 Maple saplings, shrink wrap, tarps, and basswood straps. Most of these items will be harvested by a team of four experienced lodge builders, the remaining items will be purchased with grant funding. Most of the cost for the lodge will be invested in labor and consultation.
Medicine Garden
The Garden planting will be facilitated by Seth Sutton, a Little Traverse Bay Band member. He will bring his own equipment and/or utilize tools already available at the SAP. To acquire the appropriate seeds we will collaborate with Indigenous knowledge keepers. As part of the 'gift economy' model, those who donate seeds to us will receive a gift in return. Travel funding, honorarium, and meals will also be provided on construction days.
We will extend an invitation to students and community members to assist in both elements of the project.
Funding
The team is first seeking funding from Grand Valley's Pew Faculty Teaching and Learning Center (FTLC) Grant for Teaching Innovation, which supports faculty in pursuing innovative projects that enhance teaching and learning. We are requesting $3,000 which will pay for the stipends and Teaching Lodge if accepted.
If we are unable to acquire grant funding from FTLC our next option will be to apply for the Sustainable Reinvestment Fund, through the Office of Sustainability Practices at Grand Valley. This initial funding is crucial to begin materializing this project.
We will seek subsequent funding from the Native American Heritage Fund, which promotes positive relationships between educational entities - including universities - and Michigan's federally recognized Native American tribes. If accepted, this money will help us further develop the project by funding the construction of the wigwaam, compensating the Native intern, as well as compensating our community knowledge keepers who help educate the Native students through ceremonies, workshops, and other activities.
Future Direction
The Native Space has been designed to foster lasting inclusivity and evolve as it is utilized. Following the construction of the Teaching Lodge this summer and the implementation of the NASA internship program, NASA hopes to acquire additional funding through the Native American Heritage Fund to construct a Michigan Wigwaam on the site, which is an enclosed structure that would be used for events and ceremonies.
Proposed Timeline:
Spring/Summer 2021: Build the teaching lodge and garden; invite Indigenous and non-native student groups to participate in the building of the structures.
Fall 202l: Speakers and community members will be invited to offer educational activities to the GVSU Native community and invited non-native guests. Fall 2021: Begin the NASA SAP internship program.
Winter 2021: Put the structures to rest for the winter using tarps or shrink-wrap.
Spring/Summer 2022: Resume activities; invite knowledge keepers to assist in structure upkeep.
Spring/Summer 2022: Hire Spring NASA SAP intern.
Year to year, the schedule of hiring interns, planting of the garden, and preparing the structures for winter will be fairly consistent. Specifics regarding events or speakers will be determined by NASA when the space has been constructed. Construction of the Wigwaam in addition to the teaching lodge has been left out of this timeline to be addressed in the future.
The hope for this Native Space on the Sustainable Agriculture Project is that it can provide a lasting space for Indigenous students to feel safe, dignified, and be able to connect with their cultural heritage in an appropriate setting. The space will focus not only on sustainable agriculture, but be socially sustainable and provide this space for Indigenous students indefinitely. We would also like to see this space grow and expand with time and as new students contribute to the space. It is our hope that this space will grow beyond what we have laid out in our proposal, in ways we cannot currently imagine.
