NORMAN, Oklahoma – Choctaw Nation heirloom seeds were recently launched into space as part of an extensive study that its project coordinator said was a testament to the endurance of her people.
Jacqueline Putnam, project program coordinator of Growing Hope, the organization that grew the seeds, attended the launch at Cape Canaveral, Fla.
The seed launch was part of the 29th Commercial Resupply Services Mission, funded by Boeing, and launched by SpaceX on Nov. 9 as a part of Native American Heritage Month.
Putnam said these seeds are a part of Choctaw heritage, as Native people have cultivated them for thousands of years.
Early Native Americans selected the best crops from corn’s ancestor, teosinte, and after many generations, it turned into the product most people know today.
There are hundreds of species of corn, and Choctaw/Chickasaw flour corn, or tanchi tohbi, is the variety that was launched into space. Also making the flight were chukfi peas, wild lambs quarter seeds, Choctaw sweet potato squash, and Smith peas.
During the Choctaw Trail of Tears in 1830, Putman said, the U.S. military sought to eradicate the Native people, and one way they did this was by destroying crops.
“Our ancestors knew they had to have food to start over,” Putman said. “Some of these seeds were actually sewn in the hems of dresses and blouses. The soldiers wanted to keep us dependent upon the government to starve us out, so these ladies had the foresight to hide them along the trail.”
She said astronauts will be studying the heirloom seeds to figure out the effects of microgravity and space radiation. The results of these experiments could lead to food cultivation on the moon or Mars. (CHNI Oklahoma 12/25/23) Heirloom seeds from Choctaw Nation launched to space station for study | Don't Miss This | meridianstar.com
Choctaw Nation Mississippi Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
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