“Maintaining these traditions and sharing them with our future generations keeps our culture and ancestral teachings alive.”

On the ancestral lands of the Mashpee Wampanoag, a garden flourishes: rooted in history, community strength, and the spirit of survival.

The Corn Sister Circle is an Indigenous-led group of tribal members who are combining food sovereignty and community healing in a powerful space. At the center of it all is a traditional three sisters garden, grown from seeds passed down through generations. The group focuses on the rematriation of corn or Weeâchumun, a traditional crop that was destroyed during King Philip's War. 

The garden isn’t just about planting and environmental health; it’s about cultural preservation.

Amid a declared State of Emergency due to the tribe’s housing and opioid crises, the garden is more than food — it is a place where community wellness and cultural preservation come together. One gardener shared, “Our Corn Sister Circle is a place where tribal members can learn and heal from intergenerational trauma while growing foods that are critical to the health of our future generations."

In the Corn Sister Circle, tribal members reconnect with the land and each other. They grow food that sustains bodies — and futures, passing on knowledge rooted in resilience. 

Garden founder, Lauren Peterse, shares that, “The confidence and healing brought by growing our traditional crops is empowering for our community who is facing a housing crisis on our own land. Providing this knowledge and a space to practice our ancestral ways is critical to cultural revitalization and the continuance of our traditions for generations to come.”

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Why this project was selected for funding in the Spring 2025 Grow grant round: 

The Corn Sister Circle has received both Seed and Grow grants from the Grassroots Fund, recognized by Community Grant Readers for its deep alignment with the Fund’s Guiding Practices. The project exemplifies Rooted Innovation by grounding its solutions in ancestral knowledge, place-based practices, and community relationships, creating something new by drawing on what’s always been known. The garden is not just a creative project; it’s a lived response to centuries of loss, reweaving relationships between people, seeds, and land.
It also powerfully embodies Centering a Just Transition by addressing immediate community needs — food access, healing from trauma, and cultural revitalization — while actively building Indigenous self-determination and long-term resilience.

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If this Corn Sisters Circle story makes you think of a grassroots group in your community (maybe even your own!), please share our Grow grants with them. We’re hosting bi-weekly office hours over the next month to answer questions about the program. The fall deadline to apply is Tuesday, Sept 16.