Preserving Heritage Seeds

Muckleshoot Indian Reservation's millions
of dollars from their casino cannot purchase
their survival.

SOME things have to be learned, not
purchased.

Native American dilalect is on endangered
species list.

Only  a dozen people of the tribe can
still speak the ancient language fluently,
but most are in their eighties.

Autumn Shadow is recording and learning
the original language to teach the children
when they return to school this fall.

Whulshootseed, a dilalect of the Lashootseed,
original language of Pugent Sound Native
Americans.

On another mission, she is sowing the Mission
of the Three Sisters, corn, bean, and squash,
traditional crops of the Native American diet.

Autumn Shadow is on a quest to preserve
heritage seeds, and make people aware
of Native American foods.

Many of these seeds would have been lost
long ago if they had not been saved by
individual backyard gardeners,
most often
women.

Plant husbandry is mislabeled, should be
called plant wifery.

As a positive result to protect Indian
agriculture, to include buffalo ranching,
delivering heritage seed speeches,

several prominent hotel chains are cooking
with Native American foods, the chefs
commiting themselves to include endangered
Native American foods on hotel dining menus.

Bashing someone else's seeds
to promote your own seeds
ends up with a
withered crop.

Copyright 2005 Sage Sweetwater, firebrand lesbian novelist