Grant: College & Community Social Innovation Fund

Sweetgrass is a sacred perennial plant that has cultural and social importance to the Mi’kmaq. Due to Mi’kmaq cultural practices and traditions being dependent on this plant, this grass is considered a cultural keystone species. Unfortunately, according to popular discourse and survey evidence, wild sweetgrass habitat is being lost from habitat degradation and fragmentation and potentially climate change. As a result, Mi’kmaq communities have concerns about obtaining a sustainable source from wild populations. Further, there is growing community concern that there will be an inability to use this plant during cultural practices, which may result in a cultural gap between Mi'kmaq youth and their heritage. To address this issue, there is a need to enhance access and availability of this culturally significant plant. The Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq (CMM), Unama’ki Institute of Natural Resources (UINR), Wildcat Community of Acadia First Nation, and Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) are conducting a collaborative research project to improve germination and growing practices to enhance availability of sweetgrass within Mi’kmaq communities and connect Mi’kmaq youth with this culturally important plant. The goal of this work is to better understand how to germinate and grow this culturally important species in raised garden beds within communities, as well as indoors, which in turn will lead to better access and availability of sweetgrass to Mi’kmaq communities. As part of the project, NSCC with the aid of Wildcat Community of Acadia First Nation, CMM and UINR, will facilitate educational workshops to ensure information about how to germinate and grow sweetgrass in raised garden beds as well as indoors is distributed broadly across Mi’kmaq youth. Through this process, community members and youth will be given the ability to reconnect with their cultural relationship with sweetgrass. This three-year project will offer environmental and social benefits to Mi’kmaq communities, as well as to other Indigenous communities across Canada. Environmentally, determining best practices for growing sweetgrass will lower harvesting pressure of wild sweetgrass populations. Socially, many ceremonies and teachings are centred around sweetgrass, and continued availability will allow for these practices to be passed on by Elders and Knowledge Keepers to youth. Overall, this project fosters reconciliation by ensuring long term sweetgrass availability for Mi’kmaq communities.