Rematriation Partnership: Orchard Establishment and Care

View the project final report

Commodities

• Fruits: apples

Practices

• Crop Production: grafting
• Education and Training: mentoring
• Farm Business Management: value added
• Sustainable Communities: food access and security

The Rematriation Partnership: Orchard Establishment and Care project, allowed Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) to educate and support three indigenous partner farms with establishing heritage apple orchards. While apples were not historically a source of food for Native Americans, apples were introduced after European emigration to North America and after the forced relocation of indigenous tribes and communities. The partner farms identified in this proposal are seeking to establish orchards on their properties, and Seed Savers Exchange has both the heritage scion wood of over 400 varieties of apples and the expertise to help farm partners graft varieties of their choice, plant, and prune and maintain new trees. After orchards are established years later and bare fruit, the farms will enjoy perennial food crops for generations to come and will be able to share the complex story of the connections with apples and their family history. Passing on the knowledge of how to graft apple trees will also empower the partner farms to continue to share their chosen apple varieties with others in a self-sustaining and self-sufficient manner. Partner farms are located in the upper midwest including the states of Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The objectives of the Rematriation Partnership: Orchard Establishment and Care project were met through a combination of hands-on training, on-farm support, and ongoing collaboration with three Indigenous partner farms:

1. Support Indigenous agricultural sustainability, food access, and economic opportunity
   This objective was advanced through the establishment of perennial apple orchards at each partner site. Farmers now have growing orchard systems that will provide long-term food production, reduce reliance on annual inputs, and create future opportunities for income through fresh fruit and value-added products.
2. Select apple varieties from the SSE collection to graft and plant at each partner farm
   Partner farms successfully selected and grafted a mix of heritage varieties from the Seed Savers Exchange collection, alongside culturally significant apples sourced from within their own communities. This included the preservation and propagation of a nearly 200-year-old apple tree with deep cultural ties to the Oneida Nation.
3. Teach the skill of tree grafting and consult on establishing new orchards
   Through workshops, on-farm demonstrations, and individualized consultations, all partner farms gained hands-on experience in grafting apple trees and successfully produced new grafted trees. Farmers applied these skills on their own farms and demonstrated the ability to continue grafting independently.
4. Educate farm partners on the long-term care of heritage orchards
   Participants received training in nursery care, planting, spacing, rodent protection, pruning, and orchard planning. Follow-up consultations allowed partners to evaluate graft success, troubleshoot challenges, and refine their orchard management practices.
5. Educate broader audiences about the intersection of apples in Indigenous cultures
   The project supported knowledge sharing beyond the core participants through workshops, tours, and community engagement. Partners are integrating this work into their own programming and storytelling, helping to share the cultural history and contemporary relevance of apples within Indigenous communities.