Giwéwat Gteganek

Our Vision

We envision Giwéwat Gteganek as a model for Indigenous agriculture that inspires others to reconnect with traditional foodways and land stewardship practices. By demonstrating how traditional knowledge and contemporary farming techniques can work in harmony, we aim to contribute to the revitalization of Neshnabe food sovereignty and cultural resilience. Our farm will serve as both a productive agricultural enterprise and a living educational space where the interconnected nature of cultural food systems is celebrated and shared.

Our Values

Giwéwat Gteganek is guided by Indigenous values that inform every aspect of our operation:

• Responsibility: We recognize our obligations to care for the land, seeds, and traditional knowledge that have been entrusted to us.
• Respect: We approach our work with reverence for the plants, the land, and the wisdom of those who came before us.
• Reciprocity: We believe in giving back to the land and community that sustain us, ensuring mutual benefit in all relationships.
• Relationships: We prioritize building and maintaining meaningful connections with our community, customers, collaborators, and the more-than-human world.

Our approach continues the important work of generations of Indigenous leaders who have sought to restore connections to Neshnabe foodways and the holistic nature of cultural food systems.

Goals

• Continue refining proficiency in growing three sisters crops
• Increase our growing capacity to utilize full acreage of land productively
• Generate enough income from sales to cover costs of essential equipment (small tractor, processing equipment) and begin saving for land acquisition
• Improve operational efficiency through better systems and appropriate scale technologies
• Identify and develop relationships with our primary markets, with particular focus on cultural gatherings and tribal nations in Michigan
• Accumulate sufficient capital for a down payment on our own land (10-500 acres)
• Successfully scale our three sisters growing practices 20 acres
• Develop a comprehensive understanding of market demand for our products among Indigenous communities, tribal nations, and broader markets interested in Indigenous-produced foods
• Expand our market reach beyond Michigan through an online presence and direct shipping capabilities
• Implement Indigenous agricultural practices and land management at a larger scale
• Maintain and grow a diverse collection of three sisters varieties, cultivating multiple varieties simultaneously to preserve genetic diversity and traditional seed lines