“We talked about our Creek Nation brand and the fact that we are a farming community and want to advance what our ancestors did.” - Julie Norm
TVLSE, Oklahoma - Gardening has many benefits. It's good for the environment and a way to be self-sufficient in growing food. The Muscogee (Creek) Nation was originally an agricultural community based on cultivating the land. The nation is always exploring new ways to encourage culture and gardening. The MCN Conservation District hosted the first of a new series of urban gardening workshops on November 30th at the Gilcrease Museum.
The Urban Gardening Workshop included the participation of Jack Titchener, an urban soil health specialist with the Oklahoma Commission on Conservation and the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The new workshop series aims to promote self-sufficiency and enable others to grow their own plants.
"I think it's important for us to connect with nature," Titchener said. "It's probably more important than people realize about the links between food sources and climate change."
According to MCN Conservation District ecologist Julie Norem, while this is not the first time a gardening workshop has been held, it is the first time it has been held outside of Okmulgee. Encouraging others to garden is a team effort across the tribe.
"For the past two years, we've been trying to get people to build their gardens," Norem said. "We work with rehabilitation and environmental services."
The MCN Conservation District has received grants that have enabled it to open parks across the country, such as the Senior Nutrition Center and the Morris Indian Community. Once the gardens are established, it is up to the persecuted citizens of that community to tend them.
Gardening started as a hobby for Titchener. That is, until he discovers that you can make a career out of it. Titchener went back to school to earn an agricultural sciences degree from Oklahoma State University.
"I realized how powerful it is to grow your own food," Titchener said. "How do you stay like this?"
Titchener and Norem agree that urban gardening is a great way to combat food insecurity, a problem facing many Native Americans today.
"That's another reason why we want to promote urban gardening," says Norem. "We talked about our Creek Nation brand and the fact that we are a farming community and want to advance what our ancestors did."
According to Norem, his ministry has spoken to many citizens who recall eating produce grown at home by their families. Norm remembers when his family started a garden and had fresh produce on hand.
"I remember walking barefoot through the row of plows and coming back later and eating tomatoes straight from the garden," Norem said. "I remember that very well."
Beginners without extensive gardening experience may not be able to see the potential of their property when growing produce. Titchener said vegetables can be grown in gardens large and small.
"If most people took a chance, they wouldn't need a lot of space to grow a lot of vegetables," Titchener said. "It would also surprise a lot of people how much you can produce in a normal garden."
Norem said he doesn't have an exact date for the next workshop but said it will be in January.
