With Elderberry Wisdom Farm’s Traditional Ecological Knowledge internship starting, the team is looking forward to starting seeds and plant starts in our wonderful new greenhouse this fall.
The cohort will be starting the germination process of a few traditional First Foods that are culturally important to the tribes in this area. We were able to acquire Yampah, Narrowleaf Onion, Great Camas and Bare stem Biscuitroot seeds from the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde’s nursery.
Earlier this year the AmeriCorps team and Elderberry Wisdom Farm’s cohort planted around 750 native plants in our 350’ hedgerow and the forested area on the farm. We hope to have an abundance of First Foods and medicines to harvest and distribute and offer educational teachings on each plant.
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Autumn HighDesertWolf (Sitsika, Pikuni, Piegan, (Blackfeet Confederacy), Seneca, Shawnee, and Saami) has a deep commitment to her ancestor’s teachings and spiritual traditions. She has reflected that in her past experience in local natural areas between 2015-2018 while interning in the Wisdom Workforce Development Internship; working at Wisdom of the Elders, Inc.; and serving as Assistant Crew Leader at Wisdom Workforce Development LLC. Through the guidance of her Elders, Autumn has now found a meaningful career pathway into environmental conservation work using a “Traditional Ecological Knowledge” systems foundation. Certified in environmental literacy through Ecotrust’s Green Workforce Collaborative, Autumn successfully integrated diverse teachings from Western science which she learned experientially working on diverse projects with numerous collaborative partners in the greater Portland, Oregon area.
She continued to apply habitat restoration experience as Traditional Ecological Knowledge Crew Leader at Elderberry Wisdom Farm by integrating traditional teachings of indigenous elders with interns conducting service-learning activities in rural Marion County. Due to the needs expressed by today’s conservation community and the hunger for TEK to be applied in local landscapes, Autumn is also exploring two microenterprise opportunities that combine a Native-owned habitat restoration business with development of a Native-owned native plant nursery on a five-acre site in the South Salem Hills.