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Felix Clary
ICT + Tulsa World
During the trail of tears, Choctaw women would sow seeds into the hems of their dresses to hide them from the colonists and preserve their traditional fruits, herbs and vegetables. Today, in Tuskahoma, Oklahoma, the Choctaw Nation keeps these traditional foods alive through their heirloom seed distribution program, Growing Hope.
“They wanted us to be totally dependent upon the government, but our ancestors knew we would need to have food to start over in the new lands,” said Jacqueline Putman, program coordinator for Growing Hope.
The seeds are distributed to Choctaw citizens and surrounding community members. They were even sent to outer space on a NASA space shuttle. When the seeds return home to earth around April 2024, they will be planted at a Native American boarding school Jones Academy in Hartshorne, Oklahoma to be observed by students for a scientific experiment.
“It was the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen,” said Putman. “ Just knowing where the seeds have come from. They walked the Trail of Tears, and now they’re in the heavens, or places we couldn’t imagine for our children to put them, even in the forefront of education and science, that’s just awesome.”
Putman also explained that traditional Choctaw produce is in many ways more nutritious than other popular foods in grocery stores, and that health is as important to their nation as food sovereignty.
“What we have here is our Choctaw sweet potato squash,” Putman said as she sat counting seeds during an ICT interview. “It’s high in magnesium, zinc, vitamin A and iron. It’s like a superfood. It has everything that over the counter flu and cold medicine has, except this has that all naturally.”
The sweet potato squash resembles a pumpkin, but it is a winter squash that can be kept viable up to a year on a cool, dry shelf in the home.
“Then we have our Tanchi flour corn that can grow up to 20 feet tall.”
This corn is traditionally made into a cornmeal dough paste that the Choctaw people put beans in, wrap in corn husks and drop in boiling water, making a delicious meal called Banaha that is similar to tamales.
“We also have wild Lambsquarter. It’s actually a weed that grows in the wild and in cow pastures. Its nickname is Wild Goose Foot because the leaves literally look like a goose’s foot. It is higher in iron than spinach, and has a milder taste.”
The seeds of wild Lambsquarter are harvested around Thanksgiving. Putman said they are higher in protein than peanut butter and are used in Choctaw soups. They can also be cracked with rolling pins and seared in a skillet to give them a flavor similar to coffee or tea.
“And then we have our Smith Peas,” Putman continued. “They are white peas with beautiful white blossoms. These are really prolific because we get 10-12 pods per plant.”
Smith peas traveled to Oklahoma on the Trail of Tears in 183o with the ancestors of Dr. Ian Thompson, a well-known Choctaw archaeologist.
“Next we have our Chukfi peas. Chukfi is the Choctaw word for rabbit. These are cute little brown peas that bloom into beautiful lavender blossoms. They’re so pretty and purple when they’re ready. They’re very prolific and do great with pollination indoors, so they make a gorgeous house plant,” said Putman.
Chukfi peas can be planted in a row to create bushes, or they can be planted near corn to create a climbing plant. This is akin to how Choctaw people traditionally plant beans as part of the three sisters technique.
In the three sisters technique, Corn is planted to give a stalk for beans to climb up. The beans then are planted to trellis up the corn and give nitrogen back to the soil. Lastly, squash is planted around the base because the big leaves help to keep weeds from growing and shade the stalks from getting too hot. In this way, beans, corn and squash are supporting each other like three sisters.
“We even have tobacco seeds. The tobacco is used for ceremonial purposes. Choctaws would traditionally partake of tobacco before a big event like a battle or a wedding, or even before they make a big decision. Instead of smoking it, today we just dry out the leaves and our chief gifts them to dignitaries, presidents and so forth in other nations.”
The Choctaw people perform tobacco planting to repatriate their ancestors, giving back to the earth. Putman said tobacco is a very honored plant and it is treated with the utmost respect.
Applications for the Growing Hope program can be found online. Putman said they plan to start distributing again in January and go through April.
“I’m so happy we’re opening applications to all community members, not just tribal members. I want everybody to have access to good food. Regardless of whether you’re Native or not, I don’t care.”
She said food is what people use to start life, that everyone deserves access to that and everyone should have the sovereignty to grow their own food.
“We are going to do better than we were treated. We are not going to exclude people from food. We are inclusive, not exclusive. I don’t want anybody to be left out.”
This story is co-published by the Tulsa World and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the Oklahoma area.
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