Plant Scientist Supports Indigenous Food Sovereignty Through Edible Berry Research Page Title
Brooke Ortel, University of Wyoming Extension
Plant scientist JJ Chen regularly collaborates with NASA researchers to test new methods for growing food in space. But some of the work he finds most meaningful occurs closer to home.
With the help of UW registered dietician Jill Keith, Chen has connected with Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho collaborators in central Wyoming to learn how he might contribute to food sovereignty efforts in their communities.
Supporting food sovereignty
“When you think of our land-grant mission, the ideal scenario is when community partners or tribal partners are driving the research, they’re asking the questions, and then the university is a resource to help them answer those questions,” says Keith, an associate professor in the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences. “It’s about listening to community partners and what they’re looking for and what they’re working towards.”
For Chen, that means experimenting with growing native edible berries that tribal partners identified as important to their community’s culture, health, and well-being.
“This project is something I can do to directly support people right here on this land in this state,” he explains.
Although the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho traditionally collected buffaloberries and other native berries in the wild, native populations of these plants have declined due to factors like drought, wildfire, and competition with invasive species.
Furthermore, not all community members have the time or resources to go on gathering expeditions. Especially for children and older adults, growing berries in community spaces or backyards could increase access to ancestral foods.
That’s where Chen came in. As a PhD student at Utah State University, he had studied buffaloberry as a drought-tolerant landscape plant. Through meetings with the Restoring Shoshone Ancestral Food Gathering (RSAFG) group on the Wind River Indian Reservation, Chen learned that his research experience could benefit tribal community members interested in growing these plants for food.
Sustainable berry production
After several visits with RSAFG members, Chen returned to UW’s Laramie campus with a new research question: how much fertilizer was required to prevent nutrient deficiencies in native berry plants, while minimizing environmental harm?
In consultation with the RSAFG, he chose to study silverberry, skunkbrush, and silver buffaloberry, all native edible berry plants that formed a part of ancestral diets and were available at a Wyoming nursery specializing in native seeds.
While fertilizer can promote healthy growth and prevent nutrient deficiencies, too much can result in toxic leachate that negatively affects soil and water. Rather than aiming to maximize yield, Chen’s goal was to grow native berries in a way that worked well for his collaborators and the land they steward.
“We can find a balance between typical conventional horticultural methods and environmental sustainability,” he explains.
At the Laramie Research and Extension Center, Chen examined how each species responded to different rates of nitrogen-based fertilizer application, ranging from none to twice the manufacturer-recommended amount. He measured both plant growth and levels of nitrogen leachate, looking for a balance between supporting plant growth and avoiding environmental contamination.
His results clearly indicated that, when it comes to fertilizer and native berry plants, more is not necessarily better. Benefits to plant health and growth plateaued after a certain point, with the additional fertilizer providing marginal gains while increasing cost and leachate levels.
Ultimately, Chen found that applying fertilizer at rates between 25% and 50% of the manufacturer’s recommendation was sufficient to maintain plant health and growth while minimizing environmental contamination.
Continuing the conversation
So far, Chen’s experiments suggest that growing native berries in community spaces or at home may be a viable option for Indigenous people interested in reclaiming ancestral foods. As a complement to traditional gathering methods, growing berry plants may expand access to culturally important foods and help restore food sovereignty.
With input from RSAFG members, Chen has launched a second phase of the study. Now, he’s examining drought tolerance in several native plants, with the goal of determining how much water is needed to support plant health and growth while being mindful of limited resources.
“They have a lot of passion for their native food and are always thinking about how to maintain food sovereignty and security,” Chen says. “It’s not just about food and calories, but how to help people eat more healthy food and foods that are connected with their culture. That touched me a lot and motivates me.”