The Seven Sisters Garden: Learning from the Land
The Wanuskewin Seven Sisters Garden Project is a hands-on, reconciliation-based project funded through Community Fund for Reconciliation grants at Saskatoon Community Foundation.
The Wanuskewin Seven Sisters Garden was a spring and summer initiative including land-based learning, student-led planning, ceremony, and connection.
Oskayak students designed the turtle shaped layout of the garden, helped start plants, and worked to get the soil ready. Following that, other student and community groups came to the garden for ceremony and activities such as planting, weeding, and harvesting.
Both Indigenous and non-Indigenous students and community members learned about Indigenous land-based teachings and methods from elders, knowledge keepers, and an ethnobotanist. Guests and groups visited the site to learn about stewarding the land, with over 26,000 people visiting between June and September, and over 200 unique students participating in learning.
The Seven Sisters Garden became a place that created opportunities for inclusion, story telling, traditional learning, and physical connection to the land. Its combination of self reflection, guided experiences, and hands-on experiences offered deeper understanding and information retention for everyone who was part of the project.
The garden was a feature stop at Wanuskewin Heritage Park for National Indigenous Peoples’ Day, and visitors were invited to paint rocks for the garden. On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the garden provided a reflective space on a heavy day.
Community Fund for Reconciliation grants are supported through individual and corporate contributions, the Nutrien Saskatoon Community Foundation Gala, and the foundation’s own investment. It has granted $700 thousand for reconciliation projects since 2017. Visit Saskatoon Community Foundation to make a donation to support reconciliation in action.
