Our 101st Real Farmer Care recipient is Michelle Week of x̌ast sq̓it farm @goodrainfarm in Camas, WA. Michelle writes, “I am the owner and operator of x̌ast sq̓it (hast squeit) which translates to Good Rain in the traditional language of the sngaytskstx (Sinixt) the Arrow Lakes Peoples. We operate a one acre mixed produce CSA farm with an emphasis on Pacific Northwest First Foods. I also raise heritage breed Champagne d’Argent meat rabbits to provide full dietary and meal options to our members. My heritage is of Sinixt ancestry by way of the Coville Confederated Tribes as well as French and a tiny bit of Norwegian. Raising the French heritage breed rabbits and growing items like January King cabbage alongside Stinging Nettles and Oregon Grape give me an opportunity to explore and play with my Chinook Jargon Ancestry! The principles of Good Rain Farm are decolonizing diets, revitalizing culture, food sovereignty and the returning to reverent sustainable land stewardship. Farming for me started out as a way to ensure transparency in the foods I was eating. Through my journey, farming has become a life changing ability to speak with my ancestors, rediscover my culture and really develop my relationships with my Native community as well as all kin, plant or animal. After COVID’s reach and impact I was beyond nervous. I had been furloughed (indefinitely) from my 2nd job but I had an amazing team and community behind me and we raised a bunch of money for home delivery, COVID safety PPE and protocol. We also raised money for Scholarships so that we could provide free shares to community members also adversely affected by capitalism at large. @equitablegivingcircle reached out to me and we were able to support even more families. Dear readers, you may always support @goodrainfarm directly through donating to our scholarship fund, you can shop that on our online store or by supporting many of our community partners like @equitablegivingcircle, @slowfoodpdx, @growinggardens and @naya_pdx. We hope to keep contributing to our region’s food sovereignty actions and stand with our community as we affirm that Black Lives Matter!” Photo @jamie_thrower@studioxiiiphotography
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