Working Together
Public Health Nursing, Fairfax Language, and the Community Health Representatives worked together to install raised garden beds at Fairfax Language Center. The project is part of the Grow, Gather, Hunt Program. Materials, tools, equipment, seeds, and plants were supplied to this cause by the Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country grant from Southern Plains Tribal Health Board.
Fairfax Language intends on using this project to create an outdoor children’s summer camp program. The Language Center also plans to use growth production to provide produce to the Grayhorse District dances and residents. The Fairfax Language Center has set a goal for the participants to learn how to speak the Osage words for some of the produce and activities. The Center also wants to see participants discover gardening as an enjoyable, physical activity and encourage them to eat the vegetables that they've grown. The goal of the Grow Gather Hunt Program is to improve diet and activity levels of the Native population living in Osage Nation and to help reduce the health disparities stemming from poor nutrition and inactivity.
“Native American people have a special relationship with the land reaching far beyond a place to live. The land is our identity and holds for us all the answers we need to be a healthy, vibrant, and thriving community” (Centers for Disease Control, 2017).
More Information
Contact the Public Health Nursing for further information:
1449 W. Main
Pawhuska, OK 74056
Main Phone: 918-287-5482
Email:jaime.clark@osagenation-nsn.gov