Event Explores Indigenous Agriculture and the Renewal of Appalachian Forests

By Staff Reports

A virtual conversation on Nov. 12 will bring together Indigenous scholars, elders and ecological practitioners to examine how traditional agriculture once shaped — and can again renew — the health of the Appalachian forests.

The event, titled “Remember the Garden: Indigenous Agriculture and the Renewal of the Appalachian Forests,” will feature Dr. Lyla June Johnston, an Indigenous musician, scholar and advocate for food sovereignty; Judy Smith, an elder of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians; and Chris Parker, co-founder of The Forest Farmacy and a member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.

Organizers say the discussion aims to challenge the long-held myth of the Appalachian region as untouched wilderness. Instead, speakers will highlight how Indigenous peoples actively cultivated abundance through careful stewardship, relationship, and reciprocity — practices that maintained forest health for generations.

“This conversation invites community members to reimagine the forest not as an isolated wild space, but as a tended garden shaped by care, memory and connection,” organizers said. The event will explore traditional foodways, regenerative mycology, and practical steps for building right relationship with land and community today.

Johnston, who is Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne), and of European descent, blends academic research with traditional teachings. Her doctoral work examined how pre-colonial Indigenous nations across the Americas designed large-scale food systems that sustained both humans and non-human relatives.

Smith, a respected Cherokee elder, will share teachings on Cherokee food traditions and their connection to forest stewardship. Parker, a self-taught mycologist with more than 30 years of experience in mushroom cultivation, botany and herbal medicine, will discuss how fungi and regenerative practices can help restore forest ecosystems.

The event is open to farmers, forest stewards and community members interested in Indigenous agriculture, sustainable food systems and ecological restoration.

Event Details:

When: Nov. 12 at 6 p.m. ET

Where: Online

Tickets: Pay what you want

All proceeds will benefit the IINÁH Institute, which teaches Indigenous lifeways to Native youth and communities, and the Center for Native Health, which supports the well-being of southeastern Native communities through the preservation and application of traditional knowledge.

Registration is available at The Forest Farmacy website.