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Support Indigenous Seed Keepers

Sovereign Seeds is an Indigenous-led seed sovereignty effort supported by SeedChange

Indigenous-to-North-America communities have long been singing to, praying for, and dancing with the seeds they belong to as an act of relational governance and intergenerational love, and are innovatively caring for their seed relations against all colonial odds.

SeedChange, in an effort towards solidarity action and food justice, is supporting Sovereign Seeds, a decolonially-driven, Indigenous-led seed sovereignty initiative. SeedChange is acting on its commitment to Indigenous food leadership by providing support for  Sovereign   Seeds’ growth and vision.

COVID-19 has exacerbated the pre-existing food insecurities and injustices, impacting both communities and  seeds. Indigenous  seed  keepers and earth workers have been experiencing an increase in Indigenous  seed  need and an increase in interest across their communities in food  sovereignty. With demand for   seed  higher than Indigenous  seed  keepers’   seed supply, many have been faced with the decision to gift seed for food at the risk of losing an ancestral variety. Throughout these precarious times, many COVID-19 funding solutions have been implemented without Indigenous communities’ collaboration and consent, leading to ineffective response efforts and deepened harms. 

In response to the preexisting food insecurities intensified by COVID-19, Sovereign Seeds is facilitating the COVID-19 Indigenous Seed Crisis Response Circle, an Indigenous seed stewardship collective operating with a commitment to nurture Indigenous seed varieties for improved seed health and access through and beyond this pandemic. Through this collaboratively-governed seed network, dedicated Indigenous seed leaders from across what is colonially known as Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick have come together to grow Indigenous seed varieties in the 2020 growing season to increase seed supply. Seeds generated through the Circle will be lovingly redistributed to Indigenous individuals and initiatives requiring access to their ancestral seeds for food and seed saving next year. 

Through a partnered fundraiser for the Circle, we are striving to honour these seed keepers' vital work, and to reciprocate their community care through stipends and funding support for their gardening and seed initiative costs. 

Your donation to the Circle will go directly towards supporting these seed leaders and the people and communities who will receive the seeds they are cultivating. By supporting the COVID-19 Indigenous Seed Crisis Response Circle, you are supporting a current collective of brilliant seed leaders, as well as a more just and climate-resilient future for the generations of seeds and seed keepers to come! 

Please share your support for this important fundraiser!

Back to September 2020 Newsletter