Food Sovereignty for the Odawa
The Petoskey Tribe is going back to the land.The Little Traverse Bay Band (LTBB) of Odawa Indians is going down on the farm for a major project that aims to support tribal members becoming healthier and more self-sufficient.
The tribe has purchased 300 acres near Petoskey and plans to maximize the land’s potential by programming everything from food and wildlife management to cultural events and educational programs.
Called Ziibimijwang Farm, or "the place of the flowing river," the land acquisition is the next step in a decades-long process undertaken by local Native Americans to help the band survive and flourish in today’s circumstances.
TROUBLING TREATIES
"Before the land session treaties of 1836 and 1855, the Odawa tribe was self-sufficient, growing our own food, supporting and maintaining ourselves," explained John Keshick III, Odawa Tribal Council member and also a member of the LTBB’s ad hoc Agricultural Workgroup crew.
When the treaties were set, Keshick continued, the Odawa were required to resign 13 million acres of land in order to remain in Michigan.
"Before that, we were all farmers and fishermen, as a nation," Keshick said. "In 1870, there were still 185 families running working farms here, growing garden vegetables, corn, barley and wheat. They also had access to the Great Lakes for fish and access to the forests for berries, herbs and hunting."
By the early 1900s, the Odawa had lost the majority of their lands due to treaty agreements, and everything about their way of life began to change.
REAL RELATIONSHIPS
One of the treaties established a reservation for the Odawa, but it wasn’t until 1994 that the Odawa properly reestablished the relationship between themselves and the federal government.
"That was a relationship we should’ve had from the beginning," Keshick said. "When we were reaffirmed as a trustee – which means they recognized our government and we recognized theirs – we then got access to the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, which opened the door for us to get grants and such."
The Odawa tribe crafted their constitution and began researching methods of economic development.
In 2000, they opened the Odawa Casino, which proved a big boon to both the tribe and the local Emmet County economy.
Fourteen years later, the tribe is now in a position to purchase the farmland – an acquisition that has the potential to take tribal prosperity to a new level. While the tribal council hasn’t yet finalized the long-term workings of Ziibimijwang Farm – there will be public forums this summer, with the council making their decisions in the fall – the ultimate goal is to provide free produce and farm products to all tribal members.
HEALTHY CHOICES
"The first reason I wanted us to get the farm was to make vegetables and better choices available," Keshick explained. "We went from a healthy diet in the "˜old days’ to having 30 percent of tribal members pre-diabetic and at risk for heart disease today. So, this farm is one way to combat these problems, by returning to the diet that is good for us – corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, fish, harvesting wild resources such as elk and other natural products from the wild food family."
2014 was a preparation year for Ziibimijwang Farm, 90 acres of which has been designated as working farmland. The tribe submitted soil samples and learned that the ground was depleted of many key elements, including nitrogen and ammonia.
"We are planning cover crops – soybeans and red clover – which serve to bring nutrients from the soil up to the top naturally, instead of using chemicals or bagged fertilizers," Keshick said.
If anticipated grant funding is awarded, LTBB will start growing on 10-12 test acres this season.
BEES TO TREES
The farm will focus on organic farming practices, so tribal members will be working with local USDA natural resources staff to create a specialized management plan, with assistance from local farmers.
Pollinator flowers will be cultivated to attract bees, and tribal members will be taught to work in beekeeping.
The forested portion of the land will be managed separately to yield everything from maple syrup to healthy wildlife and tree populations, the latter a nod to the Odawa’s growing environmental concerns.
"I went to a meeting in Wisconsin on climate change and learned what species are adaptable to our longitude," Keshick explained. "White Oak is one of those species."
The Odawa plan to plant White Oak saplings at Ziibimijwang to prepare for what Keshick said will be the "dying out" of other tree species as global warming continues.
As climate change arrives, we are a political entity, and we can’t just pack our bags and move. This is our homeland," he said. "So, we have to adapt to climate change for us, for the nature and animals on our farm, and for food for ourselves."
PLANS AND PATIENCE
Within a few years, the tribe hopes to be harvesting reasonable amounts of food, Keshick explains. In six years, they should be well into their first round of cover crops. At this point, a number of ways the land could lead to further prosperity for the Odawa people should be apparent.
"We got a grant from the USDA to hire a consultant to look at after-market products that the farm could potentially produce to offset its costs, such as maple syrups or health care products," explained Donna Budnick, LTBB Tribal Council legislative services attorney. "They’ll also figure out if we can do a CSA (community supported agriculture) program."
Those are only two of the ideas so far.
The tribe is proceeding in a prudent, measured way in order to ensure that the new land functions at its highest level in all areas – now and for future generations.
"To me, this farm is such a positive thing, something to get us healthy again," Keshick said. "It’s about the health of a nation, and a nation has to feed itself."
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