If you look around Rochester Public Schools, you’ll notice something that some of our schools have: a garden. These gardens add beauty to the school environment and give students an opportunity for hands-on learning. One garden that’s hard to miss is located out at Dakota Middle School, situated in the middle of the roundabout before the parking lot, front and center. This garden has something that makes it stand out from others in RPS, though – it is an Indigenous Medicine Garden. It contains a number of plants, each with a rich history and traditional significance for numerous Indigenous groups. So how did this project come to be?
“The medicine garden is another way we can honor the land of the Dakota/Lakota Sioux people,” explains Dakota Middle School Principal, Levi Lundak. “By restoring some land to the use that they would have previously, is a way we can recognize, replenish, and sustain their legacy and importance here in Rochester.”
Mr. Lundak states that this project was developed through a grant provided by the Mayo Clinic Center for Healthy Equity and Community Engagement Research (CHCR) with help from Mayo Clinic’s Native American Community Engagement Coordinator Guthrie Capossela and Senior Research Program Coordinator Corinna Sabaque.
“Native foods and medicines are an important part of our cultures, and oftentimes, Native people will lack access to those when away from our home communities and reservations,” says Guthrie, further explaining the importance of the medicine garden. “This is one way we can pull closer together and facilitate important teaching opportunities for students and RPS staff.”
What do we hope RPS students will learn from this garden? One of RPS’ American Indian Education Liaisons Amelia Cordell explains the goal for this garden: “Students will learn about some of the various medicinal herbs that the original habitants of Minnesota used to survive and thrive on these lands. They will learn how to harvest and sustain the plants, as well as be able to identify the various elements of the plants and their uses. They will also learn how plants adapt and thrive or do not thrive during various seasons.”
So, what kind of plants will you see in this garden? Here are just a few highlights:
Gragaria Virginiana Duchesne (wild strawberry): brewed into a tea to treat stomach issues
Symplocarpus Foetidas (skunk cabbage): used as a cough medicine
Lycoperdon Bovista Hokshi Chekpa (Puffpall): for treating wounds
Plantago Rugelii (Rugel's Plantain): for swelling, pain, and insect bites.
“We see the garden as an opportunity to teach all students about the plants in particular, but also the importance of living in balance with the environment around us as we care for the plants and the plants give back to us,” says Tucker Quetone, another RPS’ American Indian Education liaison.
The garden was established as a joint effort between RPS and Mayo Clinic Employee Resource Group, and assisted by Rochester Master Gardners working with the American Indian Parent Advisory Committee (AIPAC). Master Gardners and AIPAC will help maintain it for the first year; afterwards, staff, students, and families from Dakota will continue its care. Amelia Cordell shows optimism that more gardens of this type will develop in the future.
If you’ve attended a school board meeting at RPS, you likely have heard the opening: “The Board acknowledges that [Edison building] and all RPS sites are situated on the ancestral lands of the Dakota people. We honor the sacred land of the Dakota nation and all indigenous people.” This new garden at Dakota is just one way to honor the land and continue educating students about some important traditions and history.
