An Unexpectedly Life-Changing Home Garden
An Unexpectedly Life-Changing Home Garden
Sicangu Co Supporters and Donors,
I’ve had the opportunity to meet most of you (and have known others of you my whole life) but for those who don’t know me, my name is Brandi Charging Eagle and I am the Individual Giving Manager.
However, less than a year ago, I was on the other side of Sicangu Co as a Sicangu community member and that is when I received my home garden. I signed up through the Facebook post and hoped that I’d be a recipient. This was shortly after I began caring for my nieces and nephews. We went from a family of four to a family of eight! I knew a home garden would be the best way to keep my family healthy and teach them more about the land, plants, natural food, and our ancestors. Not to mention, it saved us so much money on groceries. Fresh fruits and vegetables are extremely sparse here in South Dakota. They’re expensive in the stores to cover the shipping costs from California, Washington, Idaho, and more frequently, Mexico. Through the project, I was able to meet a few Sicangu Co employees and realized how much they were doing the for my community and wanted to join the team.
Celebrating Last Year's Gardens
A Heartfelt Inspiration
Receiving one of these gardens inspired me to join the Sicangu Co team. It was a transformative experience, igniting within me a deep sense of purpose and appreciation for our community's resilience. Your support has empowered families and sown seeds of change within individuals like me and my garden continues to feed my family today!
Last year, our community witnessed the profound impact of home gardens distributed by Sicangu Co. These gardens weren't just plots of land; they symbolized hope, nourishment, and our shared connection to the land. Families across the reservation, including mine, tended to these gardens with love and care, fostering a sense of accomplishment and food sovereignty. In total, Sicangu Co installed 62 gardens across 22 communities.
Introducing Our Spring 2024 Garden Campaign
For generations, our Sicangu people nurtured a deep connection to the land, cultivating our own food and fostering self-sufficiency. However, our traditional foodways were decimated by westward expansion and colonization, leading to long-lasting negative health impacts.
Despite these challenges, families aspire to reclaim their right to nutritious, culturally relevant food. Sicangu Co has been working diligently to address this need, and this year, we're excited to launch "Seeding Sustainability: Building Home Gardens for the Oyate" campaign. Over the past two years, we've collaborated with families to install home gardens, and this year, we aim to expand further by installing at least 60 new gardens. Additionally, we'll be supporting families with home harvesting of traditional foods and medicines.
Join Us in Cultivating Change
We invite you to join us in this endeavor. Together, we can nurture the seeds of change and cultivate a future where every Sicangu family thrives. Your continued support means the world to us, and we're deeply grateful for the love and care you extend to our community.
