Native educator teaches healing wisdom with Traditional gardening
Ancient Roots Homestead is an Indigenous farm in Bowler, Wisconsin where owners Lucille and Benjamin Grignon grow the traditional plants of their ancestors. (Photo courtesy Facebook)
On April 5, 2023, Lucille Grignon (Stockbridge-Munsee Band of Mohican Nation), presented a virtual “healing camp” sponsored by The National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center (NIWRC) titled “Planting Seeds in the Community.” Grignon, called “Lucy,” is a dedicated Indigenous healer, educator, and advocate for her community and the environment.
Lucy Grignon and her husband Benjamin (Waqnahwew) own and operate an Indigenous farm in Bowler, Wisconsin, named Ancient Roots Homestead. The homestead combines traditional gardening practices from their ancestors with modern techniques to preserve their cultural inheritance through the land, plants, medicines, and wildlife.
A survivor of domestic violence herself, Lucy Grignon speaks briefly of a pivotal moment in an early abusive marriage. She says, “One day I woke up, changed my way of life – and started my journey of healing – by turning something that was rather sour (the abusive relationship) into something very sweet (her current life and work). …I chose myself.”
Lucy Grignon and her husband Benjamin (Waqnahwew) own and operate an Indigenous farm in Bowler, Wisconsin, named Ancient Roots Homestead. (Photo courtesy Facebook)
Participants in the NIWRC virtual webinar from all over the U.S. agreed with Lucy that gardening can be a powerful healing practice. One participant said, “Working in my garden provides a natural sense of healing and peace of mind. Working with the soil connects us to the earth and to our ancestors.” Another said, “Gardening for me is a way to connect my children to the earth and to their ancestors as part of our Clan.”
In the webinar and later in a personal interview, it is clear that Lucy has undoubtably found her passion and her calling. She says, “I truly love living in a way that makes my ancestors proud.”
When the COVID pandemic hit, both Lucy and husband Benjamin were public school teachers. They eventually decided to simplify their lives by creating a school without walls at their homestead. Now both devote themselves full-time to the mission of Ancient Roots.
“I dig my bare feet into the soil and feel those connections to my ancestors, the land, plants, animals, and all things. We are all related and connected. The work I am doing is connecting our past to the present, for the future! …
“I believe it is my responsibility to share my knowledge and culture for the future generations to come. Currently, my husband and I … look at traditional gardening practices from our ancestors dating back ages ago to present day.”
Lucy and Benjamin express gratitude to their ancestors for keeping these traditions alive so they can use them today. She says, “I recognize my connections to my Indigenous roots come in many forms, from our language journey to the stories of our elders, our people, and our healing.”
“We are using a combination of (the ancestors’) methods to learn, preserve, grow, seed save, reconnect, and share/educate out. We are working to reconnect to our cultural inheritance through the land, plants, medicines, and wildlife.”
The Grignons are passionate supporters of community gardening and regularly organize gardening parties where people come together to bond over the food they cultivate. Lucy also grows sacred medicines in her lawn, which she uses for her own benefit and shares with others.
One of many examples of the ancestors’ practices is the traditional Indigenous watering system the Grignons use in the garden beds at Ancient Roots Homestead. They researched ancient Indigenous gardening practices and techniques and then created ridges and furrows around the seeds with layers of different materials, such as soil, cardboard, compost, fish bone, and other organic materials.
Lucy said, “It’s brilliant. There’s a self-irrigation watering system that happens between all the layers. The water gets trapped in but it is being used so kindly. If we don’t have rain for a while, we will use the sprinkling system, but we have found that usually the rain that is provided is enough for our garden to grow.”
Citing another example of ancient wisdom, Lucy notes that sunflowers are considered the “fourth sister” in Indigenous gardening techniques that involve growing the three sisters: corn, beans, and squash. “The corn grows up tall and protects everybody. The beans crawl up the corn and wrap around and use that as their foundation and they climb right up. The squash is used as a ground cover to help shade and keep the other (invasive) plants down. They all help each other, but the sunflower is considered the fourth sister. The sunflower grows so tall it has shade for all the other garden goodies, then it works to deter birds, butterflies, all the critters who would like to eat the garden goodies.”
Sunflowers serve as a metaphor for growth and sharing knowledge, according to Lucy. “When the sunflower is big enough, it opens up and these seeds pop right into the middle and drop right down. I link that to people. As we grow really strong, we learn all these things. When we have seeds to share, we can drop them and share little seeds of knowledge with our community and beyond,” she said.
Instead of mowing their lawn, the Grignons decided to let it grow wild to see what plants, flowers, and medicines would emerge. They created an area of sweet grass, sage, and cedar, planting things they like to use right in their yard. They also grow tobacco that they give to community members for use in ceremonies.
“Being able to provide homegrown tobacco is such a simple thing, but it really is impacting so many different people in the community and outside of the community, indigenous and non-indigenous,” said Lucy.
Lucy’s father encourages her to appreciate the beauty of creation and to slow down and enjoy life. Inspired by his words, the Grignons placed a bench in their garden which has become a meaningful space for the family to rest and reflect.
One day sitting on the bench, Lucy captured the moment with a photo of a resting monarch butterfly. The photo is a daily reminder for Lucy to slow down, appreciate the beauty around her, and to remember that it’s not just for her but for everyone.
“Gardening is for everybody, regardless of the size of the land or yard they have,” Lucy said. “Taking care of something other than ourselves is part of taking care of ourselves.” She encourages everyone to start with whatever they can, no matter the space they have, and to let the healing begin.
Lucy recalls an event she conducted sponsored by the Waking Women Healing Institute (www.wakingwomenhealingint.org/) which she titled “Planting Seeds and Letting Go.” Lucy instructed the participants to mindfully drop seeds one at a time and with each seed dropped, think of something painful to release or let go. Mental health professionals have found such strategies to be effective and powerful for survivors of abuse.
By popular demand, Lucy Grignon is now in the process of writing books in order to share in written form the healing garden wisdom she has gathered. She is also writing books for children.
NIWRC is Native-led non-profit organization dedicated to ending violence against Native women and children. The organization presented this webinar in honor of Tillie Black Bear (Sicangu Lakota, 1946 – 2014), who was a nationally known activist and advocate for ending violence against Indigenous women including domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, and sex trafficking.
Along with other forms of activism, Black Bear hosted healing camps that provided a safe and supportive space for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence to share their stories and begin the healing process. The complete 75-minute April 5 webinar is posted on-line at www.niwrc.org/resources/topic/webinar.
(Contact Grace Terry at grace@angelsabide.com)
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SOURCES:
Personal interview with Lucille Grignon
www.niwrc.org/resources/topic/webinar.
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June 2, 2023