WAPAS NAH NéE SHAKU: COMMUNITY GARDEN

Wapas Nah Née Shaku

NAYA’s Community Garden is part of a vision to reclaim our Land, and to create a space where Indigenous Food Sovereignty is practiced and honored. We believe in the power of cultivating our own food to feed our community and fostering a sense of tradition through sustainable gardening practices. Located at Neerchokikoo, an ancient Native encampment and gathering site near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette River, NAYA is creating a welcoming space for our community to gather and connect with the land and their culture.

Indigenous first foods

We grow a variety of greens, herbs, vegetables and tubers in the vegetable garden. Two plants that we are stewarding are the Makah Ozette potato and Inchelium Red garlic. Inchelium Red is the oldest known variety of garlic strain in North America. It has come from the Colville Confederated Tribes Reservation and is now a food being revitalized by the Colville people. Inchelium Red garlic is planted in the fall and harvested in late June.  

A large area of our garden is dedicated to First Foods. We’ll have the three sisters (corn, beans, squash), sunflowers, amaranth, sunchokes, as well as experimenting growing Wasco/Ichiskin roots: bitterroot, biscuit root, and wild carrot.

Camas root is growing in our hedgerow alongside our other native plants. Camas is probably one of the more widely known roots in the PNW. Camas grows all over the PNW and is valued for its versatility and the number of ways it can be cooked and stored. Its bulbs resemble those of an onion, and have a sweet taste when cooked.

All of the aforementioned roots are included in the order of first foods for many Northwest Peoples. The roots are honored at the annual root feasts held at longhouses across the region in springtime. The feasts are an honoring of the first foods and also mark the beginning of the gathering season.

To get started as a garden volunteer, please write to volunteer@nayapdx.org.