Garden Talk: What it means to harvest plants respectfully

For this week’s Garden Talk, Naomi Michalsen shared some reflections on the practice of respectful harvesting.

A meadow off Sawmill Creek near Berners Bay. (Photo by Matt Miller/KTOO)
https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/31GT_RespecHarvest1.mp3

As part of the Kayaani Sisters Council, Naomi Michalsen helped develop a free guide for people who want to learn about how to sustainably and respectfully gather local plants. For this week’s Garden Talk, Michalsen shared some reflections on the practice of respectful harvesting.

“I didn’t really grow up talking about respectful harvesting. We didn’t say, ‘Hey, let’s go out and harvest respectfully!’” she said. “In today’s world, it seems like things are changing so quickly, that it is how we’re talking, and it is how we’re going out.”

She said that starts with building an understanding of the history and culture of the Indigenous people who have stewarded the land where you want to gather plants.

“Starting with our young kids, to kind of start with that idea that before we even go out to harvest — who are the people that live in the land that we’re harvesting? Build a deeper understanding and connection to the people on whose lands you are harvesting,” she said.

Michalsen said people should also feel spiritually prepared before they go out.

“Some people say a blessing or a song — a prayer. They might meditate, they might talk or sing to the plant. They might announce to the ancestors that they’re there,” she said. “Some people even said that their grandmother told stories the night before about the plant that they were going to harvest, and they would dream about this plant.”

Michalsen also emphasized that language  is a powerful vessel for expressing gratitude and respect. She explained that learning and using the traditional names of plants is a great way to practice. 

“I have a friend in Juneau, George Holly, he’s been working with a lot of the young children, and they’re creating songs around the plants and the environment around them. So it’s okay to create songs as well,” she said.

And she said it’s important to acknowledge one’s teachers.

“For example, Holly Churchill was one of my teachers when I learned how to gather cedar bark. So I always acknowledge that. Rita Blumenstein was one of my teachers around the plants, and so I acknowledge her as one of my teachers,” she said. “So, always acknowledging the people of the land, people that were your teachers — and I always would even gather for them as well, especially when they became older.”

A free, printable version of the Respectful Harvesting Guidelines is available on the University of Alaska Fairbanks website. Come back next week for more from this conversation. 

Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled Michalsen’s last name.