Gete Okosomin—Big Old Squash

The Miami Indian tribe gifted seeds of an enormous orange squash to a Menominee tribal member, who saved and shared them with Mohican, Oneida, and Ojibwe gardeners. Winona LaDuke dubbed this ancient squash “Big Old Squash” (aka “Happy Traveling Seed Squash”), thought to date back one thousand years. Thanks to the care and thought of gardeners through generations, these seeds have survived through centuries of famine and warfare. Ancestors sewed these tiny precious seeds into their clothing while walking the Trail of Tears.