Missoula Indian Center – Traditional Plants Garden
April 13, 2010
As Dana Kingfisher of the Missoula Indian Center reflected on the staggering numbers of Native youth who use commercial tobacco, she recognized the fact that urban Indians often lack access to traditional plants and other culturally important resources. As she sought a solution to this concern, she had an idea to bring traditional plants to Missoula’s Native youth as a new and culturally significant way to educate them about the differences between commercial and traditional tobacco.  This idea grew as partnerships formed and, in the summer of 2009, the Missoula Indian Center held a ground-breaking ceremony to begin work on a traditional plants garden. The garden, funded through a contract with The Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program (MTUPP), features plants used in ceremonies and with traditional tobacco. This spring, signs displaying the plants’ names in local Native languages, along with their traditional uses, will be added to the garden to strengthen the cultural connection. Without partnerships with the community, Native Yards (a business dedicated to preserving and promoting native plants in Missoula), and state organizations such as MTUPP, the garden idea may never have gotten off, or into, the ground. Everyone’s eagerness and desire to help Native youth succeed shows how powerful all partnerships can be in helping seeds of ideas grow and flourish. |
Have a successful project or program that you would like to share? We are collecting and highlighting examples of the excellent work currently being done to improve the health of urban American Indians and Alaska Natives nationwide. Please contact Meg Fairweather, Project Coordinator at meganf@uihi.org or 206-812-3035.
Useful Links: Missoula Indian Center Homepage
For more information on the Missoula Indian Center’s Community Garden, contact Dana Kingfisher at dkingfisher@montana.com.
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