By Blake Jackson
A student-led exhibit at Cornell Botanic Gardens is highlighting the relationships between Indigenous communities and the natural world through personal stories, traditional plant knowledge and cultural practices, according to Holly Hartigan at Cornell Chronicle.
Titled Rooted in Reciprocity, the storytelling project is part of the gardens’ broader Cultivating Hope: Plants and Indigenous Knowledge exhibit.
It features accounts from Indigenous students representing cultures across the Americas, describing how plants contribute to their physical and spiritual well-being, family traditions and community connections. The exhibit will remain open through the end of 2027.
The displays feature plants with significant cultural and practical importance to Indigenous communities. White pine, for example, has clusters of five needles that symbolize the union of the original five nations of the Haudenosaunee.
Elderberry has traditionally been used for medicinal purposes, including treating fever and skin problems, as well as producing dyes.
“We wanted people to see examples of Indigenous students thriving on this campus while continuing to be very close and true to their cultures and to who they are,” said Shania Flores ’28, an environment and sustainability major and student interpretation assistant at the gardens.
Flores, whose family belongs to the Kichwa people of the Andean region of South America, contributed personal stories reflecting her family's traditions. She said plants connect Indigenous communities through food, medicine and ceremonies while helping students from different backgrounds develop relationships and learn about one another's cultures.
“We’re all very different,” Flores said, “but we have these threads that connect us and this care and these relationships that really bond us together.”
Another contributor, Paige Peters ’27, a plant science major and member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, shared the story of a sweetgrass-woven barrette passed down through her family. Sweetgrass now grows in a circular garden outside the Nevin Welcome Center alongside cedar, tobacco and sage, the other three sacred medicines.
“I have had sweetgrass braids and other sweetgrass items, but I’ve never been able to identify it outside on my own,” Peters said during an October 3 presentation celebrating the project. “Having sweetgrass planted out in the garden – it’s such a privilege to be able to establish connections in that way. So yes, we’re talking about our past and our current connections, but this is also creating future connections.”
Organizers hope the exhibit encourages greater appreciation for Indigenous knowledge and the shared responsibility to care for the natural world. Students also plan to harvest garden marigolds for their November 1, 2026, Day of the Dead celebration, continuing traditions that connect plants, culture and community.
Photo Credit: pexels-greta-hoffman
Categories: New York, Education, General