For the first time, an indigenous American tribe donates seeds to the doomsday vault
Millennia from now, future humans might be snacking on heirloom crops provided by the Cherokee Nation.
The Cherokee Nation is the first indigenous American tribe in the U.S. to be invited to contribute its heirloom seeds to the "doomsday" Svalbard Global Seed Vault, nestled deep inside a mountain on a remote island situated between mainland Norway and the North Pole. The vault opened in 2008 and is designed to withstand natural and man-made disasters. It's above sea level so it's protected from ocean flooding that could be triggered by catastrophic sea level rise, according to the international crop conservation organization Crop Trust.
With climate change threatening the world's food supply, it's good news the vault has the capacity to store 4.5 million varieties of crops. Currently, it has more than 980,000 samples from nearly every country in the world, representing the world's largest collection of crop diversity.
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The tribe donated nine crop samples including its most treasured corn, the Cherokee White Eagle corn, according to according to a press release from the Cherokee Nation. Also included are the Cherokee Long Greasy Beans, Cherokee Trail of Tears Beans, Cherokee Turkey Gizzard black and brown beans, Cherokee Candy Roaster Squash, and three additional corn varieties.
All nine varieties sent to the bank can be traced back before Europeans settled in America.
On Feb. 25 the seeds, along with the vault's collection from 2020, will be deposited.
“It is such an honor to have a piece of our culture preserved forever. Generations from now, these seeds will still hold our history and there will always be a part of the Cherokee Nation in the world," said Cherokee Nation principal chief Chuck Hoskin Jr in the press release.
Siobhan was the Social Good reporter at Mashable, writing about everything from mental health to race to the climate crisis. Before diving into the world of journalism, she worked in global health — most notably, as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mozambique. Find her at @siobhanneela.
