Since last fall, Akwesasró:non Louellyn White, associate professor of First Peoples Studies at Concordia, has been working with students in her Indigenous Ways of Knowing (FPST 297) class to plan the first Indigenous Garden on Concordia's Loyola Campus. Activities have included designing the garden and starting seedlings, as well as learning about their relationships to food, plant cycles and companion planting.
On May 22, community members, students, faculty and staff gathered for the inauguration of the student-led project, a gathering place for land-based learning and home to traditional foods and medicines.
Concordia students Arlo Price and Alex Kack drumned and sang in English and Anishinaabemowin to inaugurate the new Indigenous Garden on Concordia's Loyola Campus.
The event included an opening ceremony, with singing and drumming from Kanien'keha'ka Knowledge Keeper Ka'nasohon Kevin Deer, as well as students Arlo Price and Alex Kack.
Participants also planted the garden's first seeds and plants, including tobacco, corn, beans and squash.
An opportunity to reconnect
The project has been a collaborative effort from the start. The idea came from student, Alicia Ibarra-Lemay, who proposed the students create a garden of their own after spending time together on the land. With the help of Jackie Martin, biodiversity coordinator at Loyola Campus, the group selected a sunny, accessible spot near the People's Potato garden.
"It's been so fulfilling to get our hands dirty and witness new life emerging from the soil that we helped create," White says.
The garden is designed to support Indigenous students by providing an opportunity for them to reconnect with their roots through planting, tending and harvesting together. Students can pass on the land-based skills they learn to their families and relations, and future students will carry forward the responsibility of caring for the garden, the organizers say.
Decolonization in action
The project is also an opportunity for Concordia to make concrete moves toward reconciliation and decolonization, particularly around land stewardship.
"The Indigenous Garden project is a beautiful example of the creativity and dedication to decolonial ways of teaching and learning that are so emblematic of our First Peoples Studies program," says Anna Sheftel, principal of the School of Community and Public Affairs. "This project emerged from students and was nurtured by professors and members of our Concordia community. It engages not just the mind, but also the body and spirit. We are so proud to see it blossom."
For Pascale Sicotte, dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science, the garden is an example of what can be achieved when multiple university units and services come together around a shared vision.
"The Indigenous Garden is an inspiring project that reflects the commitment, creativity and leadership of our First Peoples Studies students, with the invaluable guidance of Professor Louellyn White," she says. "This space enriches the Loyola campus and contributes to making it a place of learning, reflection and connection."
Looking forward, the organizers say they envision cooking and enjoying food from the garden at student gatherings, weekly soup and bannock kitchens, and sharing with local shelters when harvests are plentiful.
"Projects like these really nourish my soul. I'm so proud of my students for bringing our garden to life," White adds.
