Relational Foraging
Co Hosted with:
Join us to remember ways of life that continually reinforce relationships and responsibilities between people and plants. As we visit with edible and medicinal plants and learn basic plant identification, foraging, and tending skills, we will also explore the landscape as a storied and diverse Indigenous homeland, ponder the plant relationships of our various ancestors, and discuss ways to build culturally rich, reciprocal relationships with this place that is now our common home.
In this workshop:
Remember ancestral relationships to plants through story, culture, and language
Strengthen plant identification, harvesting, and tending skills
Learn about the ways that cultures shape food systems
Go beyond outdoor recreation - live well in your place
Details:
Date: June 7, 2025, 10:30AM to 3:00PM
Meet at Jack Creek Preserve’s Outdoor Education Center (OEC)
Cost: $40 per person
Bring your own field guides, notebook, etc.
There will be a brief indoor classroom part of the workshop and a field portion.
Bring your own lunch, water, snacks, and weather-appropriate gear.
We are capping the event at 20 people.
About the instructors:
Jacob Zimmerer is a PhD Candidate in Indigenous and Rural Health at Montana State University and a Land-based educator. He works for Buffalo Nations Food Systems Initiative (BNSFI), supporting cultural knowledge and identity regeneration for Native Students as a coordinator for the BNFSI Summer Fellowship Program. Jacob’s work emphasizes global de-Indigenization processes and ways to reinvigorate Land-based cultures, languages, stories, and relationships. He is a dedicated traditional craftsperson, hunter, and gatherer. He holds a M.A. in Native American Studies and a B.S. in Environmental Sciences, both from Montana State University and is deeply invested in what it means to carry his ancestors with him while also adapting to, and being a good relative on, the homelands of the Buffalo Nations. He has been foraging extensively throughout Montana for nearly a decade, and grew up learning about plants from his mother and grandmother.
Seth Still Smoking (Blackfeet/Lakota) is a BNFSI Fellow and Culinary Arts student that is dedicated to feeding his People. Driven by love for his homelands, family, ancestors, and delicious food, Seth is not only developing his skills as a Chef, but also as a traditional plant gatherer, gardener, hunter, and story-teller. He has trained with award-winning chef, Sean Sherman (Lakota), interned with the education team at North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), and most recently was an intern at FAST Blackfeet, where he used his culinary education to support health and sustainability in his community.
Reflecting on his relationship with food, Seth says, "Throughout time there have been hardships, things that truly make us human, suffering and sacrifice. These things can be grieved and healed through sharing meals and stories with community. It isn't until we come to the realization that we have been missing something that was so simple, until it's right in front of us. We were the ones that forgot."
