Great Falls College-MSU is strengthening its commitment to cultural inclusivity and environmental sustainability with the installation of sweetgrass planters on campus.
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“We’re just trying to build a space for our indigenous people,” explained Calvin Gone, a Native American Student Ambassador for the college. “That's very important to our native students here and the space that will provide that calming feeling for them being part of and they're being seen and heard and we're here to help them.”
The college plans on using the sweetgrass as a teaching tool and for Native American students to use as they continue their education.
Gone explained, “We're going to harvest and then we'll be able to use that sweetgrass. Back in our ancestral days when they went to war, they would smudge for protection. Today in the academics, we smudge to calm our spirits, to be able to take the test and get and retain the knowledge that we studied so hard to get.”
Sweetgrass has spiritual significance for many Montana Indigenous tribe and is often used in ceremonies and traditional practices such as smudging.
By planting sweetgrass, the college honors these traditions and acknowledges the deep cultural roots of the land it occupies.
The project was a collaborative effort involving the Build Montana program and community partners donating supplies.
A few GFC students along with students in the Great Falls Public School district helped design and construct the planters, gaining hands on experience while contributing to the project.
Brian Tucker, a college career coach and teacher in the Build Montana program was proud of his students and their accomplishment. He said, “I’m really proud of them. They look really good and, you know, they hold a lot of dirt and they're going to be here for a long time.”
The planters also complement the mission of the college’s Native American Enrichment Center that supports indigenous students and promotes cultural understanding on campus.
More planters of sweetgrass and sage are in talks to be built sometime next year.
