Anishinaabeg Gitigaan "The Original People's Garden" Exhibit

The Arboretum hosts a series of enriching exhibits celebrating indigenous agricultural traditions, including the "Anishinaabeg Gitigaan: The Original People's Garden" and "Omé-Na-Ala, Igbo Traditional Farm." The Original People's Garden showcases the plants utilized by the Ojibwe people of the Woodlands and Great Lakes regions, emphasizing their significance as food and medicine through the narrative of co-curator Naawakweose, an Ojibwe seed keeper. Running alongside it, the Igbo Traditional Farm exhibit, co-curated by Chidi Chidozie, features sacred plants vital to Nigerian Igbo culture and includes a scaled-down Igbo village. This living exhibit, part of the Garden Gallery at the Farm at the Arb, promotes storytelling from historically overlooked communities through their agricultural practices. Additionally, the "Hidatsa Earth Lodge Agriculture" exhibit illustrates the traditional food and planting cycles of the Hidatsa people, from planting through to harvest. Together, these exhibits intertwine natural elements with cultural narratives, deepening connections to heritage and promoting the appreciation of indigenous practices.