The Tsawwassen First Nation farm school has become a model for other Indigenous agriculture projects across B.C.
Author of the article: Glenda Luymes
Publishing date: Dec 07, 2020 •
Nicol Watson at the Tsawwassen First Nation Farm School. A former student, Watson now has a small farm plot where she grows vegetables for her community.
PHOTO BY FRANCIS GEORGIAN /PNG
It felt like time to return to the land.
After several years away, Nicol Watson moved back to her family home on the Tsawwassen First Nation in 2017.
“I decided to return to my community and learn to live off the earth,” she said. “I knew I needed a change, but I didn’t really know what I was doing.”
As a child, Watson helped her grandfather in his garden. She grew up, got a job and moved away, but a bad car crash made it hard for her to continue to work as an industrial painter.
“The garden gave me peace, so I decided to go in that direction,” she said.
Shortly after returning home, she enrolled in the Tsawwassen First Nation farm school.
In 2013, as part of its agricultural plan, the Tsawwassen First Nation set up a partnership with Kwantlen Polytechnic University to develop a hands-on agriculture training program. The Tsawwassen First Nation farm school was established on about 20 acres — roughly 20 city blocks — of traditional TFN land to teach students about small-scale sustainable agriculture and Indigenous food systems.
A first in B.C., the farm school has become a model for other Indigenous agriculture projects across the province.
“It’s a very practical program,” said Kent Mullinix, director of KPU’s institute for sustainable food systems. “It’s designed to transfer knowledge.”
While part of the school involves KPU classes, the majority of the learning happens, quite literally, in the field. There are no educational requirements for participation in the program, which is not accredited, meaning no diploma is awarded at the end. Instead, students are given the opportunity to create a business plan and establish their own incubator farm on a plot at the farm school.
“They have access to that for three years, as well as access to tools, machinery and technical and marketing support so they can build their business in an environment that’s as risk-free as possible,” said Mullinix.
The program accepts about 12 students each year on average, with priority given to Tsawwassen First Nation students and other Indigenous students.
It felt like time to return to the land.
After several years away, Nicol Watson moved back to her family home on the Tsawwassen First Nation in 2017.
“I decided to return to my community and learn to live off the earth,” she said. “I knew I needed a change, but I didn’t really know what I was doing.”
As a child, Watson helped her grandfather in his garden. She grew up, got a job and moved away, but a bad car crash made it hard for her to continue to work as an industrial painter.
“The garden gave me peace, so I decided to go in that direction,” she said.
Shortly after returning home, she enrolled in the Tsawwassen First Nation farm school.
In 2013, as part of its agricultural plan, the Tsawwassen First Nation set up a partnership with Kwantlen Polytechnic University to develop a hands-on agriculture training program. The Tsawwassen First Nation farm school was established on about 20 acres — roughly 20 city blocks — of traditional TFN land to teach students about small-scale sustainable agriculture and Indigenous food systems.
A first in B.C., the farm school has become a model for other Indigenous agriculture projects across the province.
“It’s a very practical program,” said Kent Mullinix, director of KPU’s institute for sustainable food systems. “It’s designed to transfer knowledge.”
While part of the school involves KPU classes, the majority of the learning happens, quite literally, in the field. There are no educational requirements for participation in the program, which is not accredited, meaning no diploma is awarded at the end. Instead, students are given the opportunity to create a business plan and establish their own incubator farm on a plot at the farm school.
“They have access to that for three years, as well as access to tools, machinery and technical and marketing support so they can build their business in an environment that’s as risk-free as possible,” said Mullinix.
The program accepts about 12 students each year on average, with priority given to Tsawwassen First Nation students and other Indigenous students.
The Tsawwassen First Nation Farm School gives students a hands-on education in sustainable agriculture.
PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO - PAIGE LESLIE /PNG
The farm grows various crops and recently added livestock, including pigs.
PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO - PAIGE LESLIE /PNG
Students work on the farm while taking classes in integrated pest management, plant science and tree fruit, among other subjects. Produce from the farm is provided to Tsawwassen First Nation elders. Students also participate in farmers’ markets and a community-supported agriculture box program. Indigenous food sovereignty and sustainability are at the forefront of teaching and discussion.
“We want settler-descendant students to learn that their farm has to reflect Indigenous food sovereignty — it needs to be a part of what it means to be a sustainable farmer,” said Mullinix.
Chief Ken Baird said in statement that his nation views food sovereignty as an “extension of its culture, of viewing Mother Earth as a sustaining force.”
The school draws from cultural practices, including respecting elders as knowledge keepers, and maintains a traditional smokehouse at the site.
Agriculture is also a land use that can provide revenue, food, jobs and education, he said, as well as “an enduring cultural connection for present and future generations.”
The original farmers
Discussion about Indigenous agriculture projects tends to forget that First Nations people are “the original farmers,” said Jennifer Grenz, a sessional lecturer in the University of B.C.’s faculty of land and food systems.
“People use terms like natural areas and wilderness to describe landscapes that we’ve shaped since time immemorial to provide food,” she said. “If you expect food production to look like a typical agrarian setting, you’re not going to see it.”
Historically, along with hunting and fishing, B.C. First Nations cultivated land to grow plants and bulbs.
“Now, we are taking up farming that might be slightly more recognizable to settlers, but it is still different,” said Grenz, who is Nlaka’pamux.
Indigenous agriculture is about growing food for people in a way that’s respectful of the land and ecological reconciliation. There’s also great variety in the types of farms and food production being done.
“Settler ideas sometimes hold us to the past. We bring a unique perspective and food experiences, but we’re farmers, and we’re expanding our expertise and pursuing our economic interests,” she said.
For Watson, who is also an ordained minister, farming is a way to contribute to her community. She uses her incubator farm to provide “blessing bags” to members of the community who can’t afford fresh, organic food.
“For me, it’s been valuable to learn how I can do my part for our nation. I want to gain that knowledge and pass it on to others,” she said.
Watson’s sister has also started to take courses through the farm school, which is now accepting students for its spring program after intake was suspended last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic
Students work on the farm while taking classes in integrated pest management, plant science and tree fruit, among other subjects. Produce from the farm is provided to Tsawwassen First Nation elders. Students also participate in farmers’ markets and a community-supported agriculture box program. Indigenous food sovereignty and sustainability are at the forefront of teaching and discussion.
“We want settler-descendant students to learn that their farm has to reflect Indigenous food sovereignty — it needs to be a part of what it means to be a sustainable farmer,” said Mullinix.
Chief Ken Baird said in statement that his nation views food sovereignty as an “extension of its culture, of viewing Mother Earth as a sustaining force.”
The school draws from cultural practices, including respecting elders as knowledge keepers, and maintains a traditional smokehouse at the site.
Agriculture is also a land use that can provide revenue, food, jobs and education, he said, as well as “an enduring cultural connection for present and future generations.”
The original farmers
Discussion about Indigenous agriculture projects tends to forget that First Nations people are “the original farmers,” said Jennifer Grenz, a sessional lecturer in the University of B.C.’s faculty of land and food systems.
“People use terms like natural areas and wilderness to describe landscapes that we’ve shaped since time immemorial to provide food,” she said. “If you expect food production to look like a typical agrarian setting, you’re not going to see it.”
Historically, along with hunting and fishing, B.C. First Nations cultivated land to grow plants and bulbs.
“Now, we are taking up farming that might be slightly more recognizable to settlers, but it is still different,” said Grenz, who is Nlaka’pamux.
Indigenous agriculture is about growing food for people in a way that’s respectful of the land and ecological reconciliation. There’s also great variety in the types of farms and food production being done.
“Settler ideas sometimes hold us to the past. We bring a unique perspective and food experiences, but we’re farmers, and we’re expanding our expertise and pursuing our economic interests,” she said.
For Watson, who is also an ordained minister, farming is a way to contribute to her community. She uses her incubator farm to provide “blessing bags” to members of the community who can’t afford fresh, organic food.
“For me, it’s been valuable to learn how I can do my part for our nation. I want to gain that knowledge and pass it on to others,” she said.
Watson’s sister has also started to take courses through the farm school, which is now accepting students for its spring program after intake was suspended last spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic
.
Nicol Watson at the Tsawwassen First Nation Farm School.
PHOTO BY FRANCIS GEORGIAN /PNG
A quieter summer meant farm staff could focus on developing the farm, while KPU has provided support to several other B.C. First Nations that are also interested in starting a farm school or community farm on their lands.
The Sik-E-Dakh First Nation near Hazelton reached out to the university to provide online courses for its farm school students three days a week. On the other days, instruction happens on community farmland, where students plan, plant and harvest crops, raise chickens and attend workshops, including those on food preservation and Gitxsan food ways, said band administrator Velma Sutherland
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The Sik-E-Dakh First Nation “community pantry” farm stand. From L-R, farmers Eric Wale, Victor Wesley and Eric Fowler. PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO /PNG
Farmers tend the crops at the Sik-E-Dakh First Nation farm school.
PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO /PNG
Students in a carpentry program built a greenhouse and chicken house on the land, as well as a “community pantry” farm stand.
“Next year we hope to expand. The goal is to bring some economic development and also teach people skills,” she said. “We want this to be something the community can be proud of.”
Sutherland said food security has become even more important during the pandemic, but for the Sik-E-Dakh, generosity is also key.
“It doesn’t have to make us millionaires,” she said. “We want to make sure everyone in the community has enough potatoes and carrots, and once they do, we can sell the rest.”
PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO /PNG
Students in a carpentry program built a greenhouse and chicken house on the land, as well as a “community pantry” farm stand.
“Next year we hope to expand. The goal is to bring some economic development and also teach people skills,” she said. “We want this to be something the community can be proud of.”
Sutherland said food security has become even more important during the pandemic, but for the Sik-E-Dakh, generosity is also key.
“It doesn’t have to make us millionaires,” she said. “We want to make sure everyone in the community has enough potatoes and carrots, and once they do, we can sell the rest.”
Reliable access to nutritious food
Food security is top of mind for many of the B.C. First Nations that have begun exploring agricultural programs, said Trevor Kempthorne, a consultant with the First Nations Agriculture Association of B.C.
The association, which began in 1978 but shut down for several years before starting up again in 2018, provides business planning, soil testing and workshops for Indigenous farmers.
“When we’re invited into a community, they tell us what they’d like to do,” he said.
While COVID-19 has highlighted the need for local food sources that aren’t dependent on international markets, remote First Nations can also be cut off from the food supply chain by natural events, such as rock slides.
“It’s all about sustainable agriculture for the community. To be able to grow and supply your own community and have some control over that,” said Kempthorne, adding food security can also lead to employment opportunities, better health and reduced greenhouse gas emissions.
Statistics Canada figures shows that while Indigenous people are under-represented in agriculture — making up about 2.7 per cent of Canada’s farm population compared to 4.9 per cent of the country’s total population — the number of Indigenous farm operators is rapidly growing.
According to a report based on the results of the 2016 agriculture census, the number of Indigenous agricultural operators increased 53.7 per cent from 2006, compared to a decline of 30 per cent in the total number of agricultural operators.
B.C. had the largest number of First Nations farmers in 2016 with 285, followed by Ontario with 215 and Alberta with 150.
“It should be noted that Aboriginal history has been marked by government policies that affected Aboriginal access to farmland, tools and markets,” said the report. “The recent statistics, then, should be viewed with this history in mind.”
Kempthorne said the most common barrier he’s encountered is access to capital. While some First Nations have high-quality farm land, startup costs for livestock and equipment can be very high. Part of his work includes sourcing funds and financing options for farmers.
“Basically, it’s all about putting together a strong business plan,” he said.
The median gross farm revenue of First Nations agricultural operations was about $18,000, according to the 2016 agriculture census, or about one-quarter of the revenue of farms managed by non-Aboriginal operators.
The census also found First Nations operators were more likely to be part-time farmers and work at an off-farm job or business as well.
The Statistics Canada report concluded “more research on Aboriginal peoples and agriculture remains to be done, particularly on the subject of Aboriginal access to agricultural land.”
Harvest at the Tsawwassen First Nation Farm School.
PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO - PAIGE LESLIE /PNG
Students sell farm school produce at local farmers’ markets.
PHOTO BY SUBMITTED PHOTO - PAIGE LESLIE /PNG
Fifty farm and food projects supported over two years
In 2018, the B.C. government launched the Indigenous agriculture development program, which has provided support to about 50 farm and food projects so far, according to the Ministry of Agriculture.
The program aims to support business planning and skills development for communities and individuals who want to develop opportunities in agriculture and food. It has two streams, including one for Indigenous governments, communities and organizations, and another for Indigenous entrepreneurs.
Since its launch, the B.C. government has provided more than $320,000 in funding to the program, including $172,900 so far this fiscal year.
Many projects have “economic development goals as well as goals related to supporting food security and Indigenous food systems,” said a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture.
UBC instructor Grenz said it’s an exciting time for Indigenous agriculture.
“It’s a unique time,” she said. “We’re seeing more support.”
By reclaiming their culture, First Nations are also reclaiming food sovereignty.
“You don’t have food without culture,” she said.
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