Embedded Files
Reclamation is powerful; reclamation of land, of sovereignty, of self, of community, and of seeds are all themes that “Borderless Seed Stories” seeks to encompass. In the wake of violence, reclaiming one’s connection with land and seeds can be deeply healing, for both oneself and the world at large. “Rematriation” is used here in lieu of the more patriarchal term “repatriation.” Rematriation is the Indigenous-led process of restoring connections between people and land, between land and people, and honoring the matrilineal legacy of that work. Historically and contemporarily, Indigenous women are the primary stewards of land and of seeds, and rematriation seeks to engage with that truth.
Useful Terms
Useful Terms
Rematriation
Rematriation
“This term describes an instance where land, air, water, animals, plants, ideas and ways of doing things and living are purposefully returned to their original natural context–their mother, the great Female Holy Wild. Like the repatriation of prisoners after years of war or millennia of unwilling slavery in service to an unconscious civilization, exploited and depleted for their wild vitality, any attempt to ‘rematriate’ them back to the Holy in Nature is the beginning of cultural sanity and healing.” – Martin Prechtel, The Unlikely Peace of Cuchumaquic
Seed Poetry
Seed Poetry
we're not supposed to talk to the seeds.
or the swine, the cattle, the herds.
we're not supposed to hold them,
name them,
honor their father and their mother.
we're not supposed to understand that we are all one in the same.
that we all honor the same father, the same mother, the same sky.
sustained by the same sun, the same bonded molecules of oxygen and hydrogen.
we are the earth and the earth is us.
we are not supposed to know this.
but the earth doesn't need to be known to be.
— Julian Creutz
Reclamation
Reclamation
In the wake of violence, reclaiming one’s connection with nature and seeds can be deeply moving and healing. Information can be found surrounding gardening and the first and second World Wars. Gardening was used to help the war effort by reducing the amount of rations people used, but it can be argued that a return to the land and planting was a safe haven for people living in harrowing, uncertain times. Gardening was an act of reclamation of safety, a way to take control in a situation where one's sense of belonging and control was disrupted. War was and is horrific for everyone, those who fought and those who did not, and connecting back to the simple act of planting seeds offered a little bit of solace in the midst of all that horror.
Guerrilla Gardening
Guerrilla Gardening
Coined by the Green Guerillas group in 1973, “guerrilla gardening” is the act of “planting on land one does not own without express permission.” It is practiced internationally and has been called many names due to its ambiguous definitions: is it civil disobedience, illicit cultivation, or gardening public space? Though it is an informal and often covert practice, many more formal gardening projects has its roots in guerilla gardening. As Courtney B. Ryan put it, “guerrilla gardeners are not a homogenous, radical entity but can include a range of people from those enthralled with the illicitness of the activity to those who simply do not realize that they need permission to garden on public land.”
As an act of activism and tactical performance, guerrilla gardeners create seed grenades (or seed green-aids) and seed bombs to be thrown and grown into abandoned lots, parkways, sidewalks, rental properties, among other places. It can be seen as “an anti-capitalist subculture against property laws; a source of communal engagement; and a localized, situationally specific intervention,” and also raises important questions on who can access to green space and the significance of short-term gardening practices.
Based in New York City, the Green Guerillas, along with other organizers and community members, push back against the urban decay all around them in their city. Guerilla gardening and community gardens became the community’s response to reclaim their urban space and revitalize their neighborhoods. As Amos Taylor says, a co-founder of the Green Guerillas, “We were basically saying to the government, if you won’t do it, we will.” The Green Guerillas now function as a nonprofit research center advocating for food and environmental justice, supporting community gardeners across the city and supporting the development of youth leadership.
Rematriation
Rematriation
The fight for rematriation is taking place in Indigenous communities both here and around the globe. “Meet The Sámi Land Defenders of Scandinavia” by Nina Gualinga covers the efforts of the Sámi peoples, Indigenous to the Sápmi region (including parts of Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Russia), to reclaim their land from governments that are continuously hostile to the Sámi and their land. Mihkkal Haetta, a Sámi leader, points out: “There are 151 illegal wind turbines built on the grazing lands of the Sámi people in the Fosen area in southern Sápmi.” These wind turbines are supposed to promote “green” energy and support the environment, but they are encroaching on the Indigenous lands of the Sámi, who have always known how best to steward the land they have always inhabited.
Sofia Jannok, an artist, actress, and activist, says; “The land is like family. Here, everything has a name. I don’t say that I go out into nature; I name where I’m going because the smallest cold spring, small lake or marsh has a name. We are an extension of our surroundings and they are an extension of us.” This so beautifully explains the importance of rematriation to the Sámi, the connection between land, language, and its people as something familial, where there really is no clear line of demarcation between “nature” and “person.” Jannok continues by sharing a message of protest, summing up why the fight for rematriation is, in fact, a fight: “They’ve been trying for so long to wipe us out, but haven’t succeeded. We are tough like the mountain birches that cling to the edge of the mountain. Our roots are so deeply rooted in the Earth that they cannot be wiped out. And in those roots, are the roots of our foremothers. The fact that we even exist is a revolution. The fact that we are still breathing today, is an act of rebellion.”
Interactive Activity: Put A Name To It
Interactive Activity: Put A Name To It
The Sámi people have names for everything in nature, no matter how big or small. Take a moment to think about a natural community space you’re connected to: maybe a tree in your backyard, a flower you see on the way to work, or a cute squirrel you pass by. Give it a name! Be intentional with the practice of giving a name to something important to you. Doodle the piece of nature you connect with and write down its name!
Feel free to right-click the image above and hit "download" or "save" for a printable mini version of this Theme Exploration! Click here for a helpful tutorial for how to fold a one-page zine.
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