When asked about the significance of the Planter’s Society to Brave Heart’s mission, Faith Spotted Eagle, the volunteer manager of Brave Heart, explained, “Grandfather Philip and others could see that with the captivity of the Yanktons on the reservation with limited annuities that were stolen by unscrupulous government agents and no game to hunt, starvation was ensuing. The Planter’s Society was begun by three Ihanktonwan grandfathers around 1875–1880, and is known for having advocated for Native food independence. One of Brave Heart Society’s activities is to revive an old gardening circle called Woju Okodakiciye, or Planter’s Society. “We can’t wait for someone to do right by us, so we have to do it ourselves.” This process of restoration is decidedly community-driven: “We’re one of the most underserved communities out there, and we know we can’t wait around for someone else,” a community member explained. Brave Heart, supervised by a group of community grandmothers called the Unci Circle, is dedicated to restoring endangered and lost cultural practices to heal the wounds endured by the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota peoples. I spent a month with the grassroots nonprofit organization Brave Heart Society as a representative of Seva Foundation, which supported Brave Heart’s food sovereignty activities this year on the Yankton Indian Reservation in South Dakota. “How do you grow this? Is there any special soil or fertilizer involved?”

“I still have some of the cucumbers left from last time, they are delicious.” “Are these from the garden? They look way better than the ones sold in the store…” It was the first harvest of the year for the squash, and all kinds of questions and comments flew at us at once: Their eyes glittered as they caught sight of the squash. Many residents knew why we were there, and some came towards our van to talk about how good the cucumbers were from the previous distribution. We drove through the Lake Andes housing development area with a van laden with the harvest. We picked some 200 cucumbers and 30 stunningly beautiful yellow squash from the garden on a hot August day after weeding and watering.

Brave heart society