This summer, we are working in partnership with the Indian Health Board (IHB) to cultivate a medicine garden (mashkiikii gitigan in Anishinaabe) at the 24th St. Urban Garden in Minneapolis. We started clearing out the garden — located across the street from the IHB medical and dental center on East 24th Street — in early May. It’s been a lot of work, but it’s really coming along well. 

The design we have for the garden is the traditional medicine wheel found in most North American Indigenous cultures. The IFL team has been working the garden for the past month, pulling weeds and invasive plants, clearing debris and trash, as well as tilling the soil to prepare for planting. 

We started some seedlings inside the IFL about a month ago, and while some are trickier than others to sow, we’ve had pretty good luck so far and most of them are taking off and are ready to be planted.