“Pick up that pole-end and hold it steady”, I heard a soft, yet commanding voice guiding a rag tag team of volunteers to set up a Tipi. Barely two days into my arrival at Calgary, things still seem surreal, yet somehow entering the ‘Land of dreams’ felt like entering a familiar ground. I joined the Soil Camp project as a Postdoctoral scholar after finding resonance with my past experiences, and pedagogical possibilities of the project. Having volunteered with many community-based urban farming groups in India, the sight of raised beds and seedlings instantly brought back memories of shared labour; Before I knew it, I was keenly following Siksika Elder Herman Many Guns from the Blackfoot Nation to set up the Tipi along with other regular and senior volunteers. There could not be a better way to feel more welcomed than partake in community efforts. While constructing the Tipi, Elder Herman explained how there are different ways of making it, and various Indigenous cultures have their own distinctive styles. Learning to observe and appreciate different traditions is also a process of respecting the unique contributions of various cultures.
‘Land of Dreams’ is 30-acre initiative by The Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) to help immigrant families, who have mostly been violently displaced from their homelands to rekindle connections through cultivating community gardens. A unique design of the space involves interactions, and learning from Indigenous communities to better understand and appreciate the history of the place.
Building the Tipi is part of an inaugural ceremony to welcome a new growing season, and seek blessings from the cosmos for a good harvest. As we huddled inside the Tipi around an altar and wood fire, Elder Herman gently requested the participants to avoid crossing the altar space, and instead move around it as a mark of respect for the ceremony. I wondered if the movement was also an invitation to embrace the circularity of life, a wayfinding to notice the gifts freely given as opposed to mere transactional means of just completing an action.
After being gifted a can of tobacco, he asked us all to take a pinch to offer individual prayers to the land. He explained how the Blackfoot culture regards the beaver to have offered their ancestors Tobacco, and they offer it back to the land as a token of reciprocity. I was reminded of Kimmerer’s explanation of ‘honorable harvest’ that rests on the idea of being mindful of consumption and ensuring that no interaction with the environment is that of one-sided taking. Abundance is born out of sharing. Elder Herman also briefly recounted the painful and violent history of displacement of Indigenous peoples through settler-colonialism, and how arbitrary borders now separate tribes sharing a common lineage. Yet, the community Elders are trying to keep their culture and tradition alive despite historic attempts to erase their identity, and the connection with the Land is an important part of reclaiming kinship. Having faith in the Land is to hope for a better future, and Elder Herman felt that ‘Land of Dreams’ is a testimony of that faith in action.
A small part of the land has been used as a site for educational explorations under the project Soil Camp. Miwa, Sophia and I sowed some wildflower seeds in the beds – Sunflowers, Anemone and Brown-eyed Susan in anticipation of rains and spring weather to encourage their germination and growth. Discovering healthy earthworms on the site seemed like a promise of good things to come.
Following a recent spate of rains, wild mushrooms dotted the beds everywhere, lending a magical ambience to the gathering. A chicken coop turned out to be a major attraction for the children and adults alike. I heard a colleague’s (Anita) mother recount her childhood days spent among animals and chickens who would be seen as a part of an extended family. Many such stories underlie the tenderness and nostalgia bringing people to the ‘Land of Dreams’.
I spent some time admiring the plants already growing the beds such as Chives, different kinds of Lettuce, Garlic, and Rhubarb. Chris, a colleague with a background in plant biology also shared my enthusiasm to explore the beds, and we came across a new plant neither of us had seen earlier. “Go ahead, eat some of the leaves”, I heard someone say. Curious, we ate a leaf and were pleasantly surprised at the pungent, slightly minty taste. “It is called Lovage, and tastes similar to Celery”, the lady explained kindly. If our hearts weren’t full enough, the event also had a potluck with an amazing variety of dishes contributed by the participants.
At a time of increasing hatred, violence and intolerance defining political views and policies, such spaces are a precious oasis of emerging counter-narratives and alternate values based on respect, reciprocity and sharing. As Jamie Liu writes, “love is labor and labor is love”. Creating newer imaginaries is hard work, but one that we don’t have to do alone.
A reflection written by Deborah Dutta
Watch a short clip of the Opening Ceremony on the Land of Dreams Here (CTV News)
Soil Camp 