Tolowa Dee-ni Nation

The Tolowa Dee-ni' nation's (TDN) two-year project will establish a physical and digital native plant and seed library and a propagation nursery, which are essential to support tribal and community education about local indigenous environmental practices, language, and cultural traditions. Outcomes for the project consist of completing site plans, establishing annual schedules, harvesting cuttings, seeds, and juvenile plants of at least 30 native species, planting at least 30 native species, completing four seasonal workshops per year, completing all earthwork and infrastructure projects, propagating at least 50 of each 15 species each year, cataloging a digital and physical seed library with native, annual, and perennial food seeds and distributing seeds to at least 50 tribal citizens, as well as developing 30 specific QR codes. Participant outcomes include being able to identify at least 10 native plants, access to seeds for eases in knowledge of traditional cultivation and propagation practices, and increased Tolowa plant word proficiency. The library and nursery will preserve invaluable cultural information, revitalize community understandings of Tolowa practices, and support the tribe's sovereignty mission for residents living within a tri-county area in Northern California and Southern Oregon, which includes one of the largest Native American populations in California and some of the most impoverished groups of people.