Fall of 2021 Ganondagan State Historic Site and the Iroquois White Corn Project hosted their Annual Husking Bee. We sat down with a few of the community volunteers to discuss the importance of Traditional Diets, Food Sovereignty, White Corn, Traditional Practices and Community Building.

Fall of 2021 The Friends of Ganondagan and The Iroquois White Corn Project hosted a Haudenosaunee Traditional Cooking event with Haudenosaunee Chef Arlie Doxtator (Oneida Nation), Traditional Foods and Seed Saver Angela Ferguson (Onondaga Nation) and Traditional Potter Natasha Smoke (Akwesasne Mohawk). Food was prepared using traditional cooking methods of the Haudenosaunee People. In this video we interview Arlie Doxtator about the importance of Seed Saving and the use of Traditional Heirloom Foods. Arlie Jubie Doxtator @angelaferguson #traditionalcooking #haudenosaunee #native #Pottery #ganondagan #iroquoispottery #threesisters #corn #iroquoiswhitecorn #nativefoods #corn #indigenous #heirloom #naturalfoods #food #organicfood #organic #cooking

Fall of 2021 The Friends of Ganondagan and The Iroquois White Corn Project hosted a Haudenosaunee Traditional Cooking event with Haudenosaunee Chef Arlie Doxtator (Oneida Nation), Traditional Foods and Seed Saver Angela Ferguson (Onondaga Nation) and Traditional Potter Natasha Smoke (Akwesasne Mohawk). Food was prepared using traditional cooking methods of the Haudenosaunee People. In this video we sit with the artist Natasha Smoke to hear a bit about her work and how the use of traditional pots are an integral part of reclaiming Indigenous Foods Preparations.

As part of the Fall Harvest the Iroquois White Corn Project hosted its annual Fall Husking Bee. Volunteers and Community members helped with the process of removing the husk and preparing the corn to be woven into braids. Once braided, the corn with be secured in a corn crib and left to dry for approximately 3 to 4 months before it is able to be processed and used. This annual event is a fun gathering for families and friends and is a great community building activity. Lunch is provided to the volunteers by the Friends of Ganondagan and the Iroquois White Corn Project. For more information on next years event and other upcoming Iroquois White Corn Project events, please visit https://ganondagan.org/whitecorn/about

Fall of 2021 The Friends of Ganondagan and The Iroquois White Corn Project hosted a Haudenosaunee Traditional Cooking event with Haudenosaunee Chef Arlie Doxtator (Oneida Nation), Traditional Foods and Seed Saver Angela Ferguson (Onondaga Nation) and Traditional Potter Natasha Smoke (Akwesasne Mohawk). Food was prepared using traditional cooking methods of the Haudenosaunee People. In this video we interview Arlie Doxtator about the importance of Seed Saving and the use of Traditional Heirloom Foods. Arlie Jubie Doxtator @angelaferguson #traditionalcooking #haudenosaunee #native #Pottery #ganondagan #iroquoispottery #threesisters #corn #iroquoiswhitecorn #nativefoods #corn #indigenous #heirloom #naturalfoods #food #organicfood #organic #cooking

At Ganondagan, we have a traditional Three Sister Garden where we grow Corn, Beans, and Squash. The heirloom Corn grown here is called hehgowa:h, or Flint corn, which consists of pearly white and blue kernels on medium sized ears. It takes about 120 days to reach full maturity. Once mature, we harvest and husk it, leaving several husks intact that are pulled back for ease when braiding. The first three are braided in such a way that stabilizes them. Each new prepared ear is added in the braiding process until a braid is at the desired length. The end is braided for stability and draping so that it can be looped for hanging. The corn is braided to hang and saved to eat during the winter or for ceremonial use.

Belinda Patterson, Tuscarora teaching how to make Iroquois White Corn Bread.

In this expansive tour of human civilization leading to today's climate crisis, Native American scholar John Mohawk explores the interrelationship of climate change and human evolution. For most of our history as hunter-gatherers and farmers, we retained an intimate knowledge of the natural world that supported us, especially plants. That knowledge, he observes, is being lost at radical rates today. Re-establishing our intimacy and kinship with the plant world is key to surviving dramatic climatic changes. He shares insights about the "Native American pragmatism" that successfully balanced the practical with the spiritual for thousands of years. "All of the survival techniques we learned about our relations to cultivars and everything at this hour stands in peril. And our relationship to wild plants stands in peril. The big human relationship to our cultural heritage is on the verge of extinction, and we need to change that." This speech was presented at the 2004 Bioneers National Conference and is part of the Indigenous Knowledge, Vol. 1 and Nature, Culture and Spirit, Vol. 1 Collections. Since 1990, Bioneers has acted as a fertile hub of social and scientific innovators with practical and visionary solutions for the world's most pressing environmental and social challenges. To experience talks like this, please join us at the Bioneers National Conference each October, and regional Bioneers Resilient Community Network gatherings held nationwide throughout the year. Learn more about the Bioneers Indigenous Knowledge Program at http://www.bioneers.org/pages/indigeneity-program/ and stay in touch via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Bioneers.org) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/bioneers).