The new feature at the Native American program house was a collaboration with Cornell Botanic Gardens<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This story was condensed from <\/em>a feature<\/em><\/a> in the <\/em>Cornell Chronicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By Caitlin Hayes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n One night in late January, two groups of students came together to plan a garden. With markers and crayons, they drew their aspirations and ideas on large sheets of paper. They talked about plants and meaning, about culture, hope, and healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because this wasn\u2019t just any garden. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A group of Indigenous students from the American Indian and Indigenous Studies Program (AIISP) had brought their idea of a medicinal garden to students and staff from Cornell Botanic Gardens<\/a>\u2019 Learning by Leading program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, they established the Akwe:kon Full Circle Healing and Honoring Garden, which aims to further bond Cornell\u2019s Indigenous student community and to honor Indigenous students and their connection to the land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been talking about a garden for a long time,\u201d says Yanenowi Logan \u201924, an environment and sustainability major in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and a citizen of the Seneca nation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut it\u2019s not just a garden\u2014this was an opportunity to build community with each other and with the land we have. With the native plants and traditional plants\u2014it contributes to this whole ecosystem of Indigeneity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n