ANC USDA Garden Tours harvested many participants

The USDA Demonstration Garden on the Aaniiih Nakoda College Campus held its annual garden tours, where community members were educated, gifted organic vegetables and fed a delicious lunch, and some were lucky enough to win wonderful prizes.

Manuel Morales and his wife Cheryl Morales both work at the college, “Manny” is the USDA Extension Director, and Cheryl, NSF T-CUP CoPI/ Project Coordinator have worked hard over the summer. Manny, his assistant, Doug Main and his summer interns, Trey Cochran, HRDC Summer Youth, Isaiah Doney, Terry Sand Crane, and Eric Plumage, worked in the rain, heat, wind, battling the mosquitos, raccoons and snakes to keep the garden hydrated and growing.

Cheryl teaches a holistic medicinal class and grows her own plants, with the help of students in her class, and are transplanted to the medicinal garden. The medicinal garden is a nice complement of keeping our body, mind and spirit healthy along with the vegetable garden. This year she and her interns along with the assistance of some of Manny’s interns built the new medicine wheel garden that she designed herself. “I have wanted to do this for the last three years and this summer with the help of our interns we were able to make a dream come true.” The Morales’s credit their hardworking interns for their willingness to pitch in, be at work rain or shine, and work ethics, including Cheryl’s two female interns Clarissa Haskan and Keesha Weasel who were both pregnant and are sister-in-laws. “They worked hard to help me weed the garden, harvest, dry, and store the medicinal plants and construct the new medicine wheel garden.”

Other area health organizations were on hand to educate the crowd, Diabetes Prevention did the Tasty Test meal of Eddie’s Tatonka soup, Tribal Extension, SNAP-ED, Pubic Health Nursing, Indian Health Service Nutritionist, Val Ricker, RD,LN, CDE, informed about the vitamins and minerals in the vegetables, and how to cook them to get the most out of the vegetables. “Healthy Hearts” and Public Health Nursing department were on hand to take blood pressure and test blood sugar levels, and educated those who were tested on how to lower blood pressure and regulate blood sugar levels.

Area schools including Dodson Public School, Mission Elementary School, Harlem Public School and Hays-Lodgepole bussed grade school students earlier in the week to learn about the importance of “growing your own” gardening. Manny stated, “Yesterday we had 70 sixth grade students from Harlem Elementary, I had to take a photo because thus far that is the largest elementary class we have ever hosted!”

The White Clay Language Immersion School students harvested sweet grass from the raised box beds to braid and give to elders in the community for special traditional and cultural occasions. They also harvest tobacco that is grown and offer this to the elders for ceremonial purposes.

Many of the garden tour participants reaped the bounty of the harvest, taking home a wide variety of vegetables, such as squash, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, peppers, beets, rutabagas, and many more organic vegetables, to include medicinal plants for health purposes.

“It is a wonderful thing that the college does for the community”, one participant stated. Whatever vegetables are left over after the community tours will be donated to area senior citizen centers. “We are trying to educate our people in the community that growing a garden is healthier, cuts down on the grocery bill and is an enjoyable summer project.” Manuel stated.