{"id":131746,"date":"2026-06-03T14:49:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:49:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/free-squash-planting-workshop-to-teach-indigenous-methods-in-cortez\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T14:49:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T20:49:16","slug":"free-squash-planting-workshop-to-teach-indigenous-methods-in-cortez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/free-squash-planting-workshop-to-teach-indigenous-methods-in-cortez\/","title":{"rendered":"Free squash planting workshop to teach indigenous methods in Cortez"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=2a515c03-6baa-541d-a338-c0756360ed7e&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=2a515c03-6baa-541d-a338-c0756360ed7e&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=800 800w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=2a515c03-6baa-541d-a338-c0756360ed7e&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1200 1200w, https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=2a515c03-6baa-541d-a338-c0756360ed7e&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=1800 1800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 480px) 100vw, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 2000px\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" alt=\"Din\u00e9 scientist and culture bearer Brandon Francis and his family will discuss native stories and methods of planting, utilizing historic knowledge of farming through drought. (AP file)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Din\u00e9 scientist and culture bearer Brandon Francis and his family will discuss native stories and methods of planting, utilizing historic knowledge of farming through drought. (AP file)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n<p>Good Sam\u2019s Food Pantry is hosting a free squash planting and water resources workshop at 4:30 p.m. Thursday in its garden at 30 N. Beech St. in Cortez.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe think it\u2019s important to reclaim this parking lot behind the pantry to share knowledge and methods and build community around these ways of relating to seeds and food and each other,\u201d Kirbi Foster, the food pantry\u2019s executive director, said.<\/p>\n<p>The workshop invites adults and kids alike to learn about companion planting via the Four Sisters Method, which involves cultivating sunflowers, bean, squash and corn together to benefit the garden as a whole.<\/p>\n<p><\/p><div class=\"naviga-social-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FGoodSamsCenter%2Fposts%2Fpfbid016NBGvUFnFpSggY8qAK8wvTDA3Btc8BacsKkLVAxFcH4yF8PsWgPAqe4ELZMbxzrl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"707\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n\n<p>Workshop leader Brandon Francis, who is a Din\u00e9 scientist and culture bearer, has been gardening in the Four Corners region for over a decade. His partner and their 5-year-old daughter will also help lead the workshops, centering Indigenous knowledge and stories.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere (were) ways in the past that were very beneficial, and passing on that knowledge is part of what I like to do,\u201d Francis said. \u201cHaving people overcome those fears of trying to reconnect with their roots is part of my work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Along the way, Francis will also discuss the history of water resources in the Four Corners, connecting historic challenges to the modern day drought afflicting Montezuma County.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Indigenous people have undergone mega droughts, which are very similar, and have survived,\u201d Francis said. \u201cThe strength of our ancestors is what will carry us through because they have undergone similar situations.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Foster added that the workshop will cover people\u2019s relationship with water, assessing its changes over time and explaining how plants adapt to water availability.<\/p>\n<p>Foster said everyone is welcome to attend. The workshop will feature crafts for kids and traditional Din\u00e9 drinks and food, inviting a family-friendly atmosphere.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPeople who want to know how to grow squash and how to companion plant, and also anyone who\u2019s maybe just feeling a little isolated and would like a welcoming space to be in with other people, then this would be the place,\u201d Foster said.<\/p>\n<p>Francis added that anyone looking for good food, plant talk, an agricultural history lesson and social and nature connections should join.<\/p>\n<p>Those planning to attend can register by calling 970-565-6424 or emailing <a href=\"mailto:elisa@goodsamscortez.org\">elisa@goodsamscortez.org<\/a>. Those interested in learning more about the free garden workshop series can email Foster at <a href=\"mailto:director@goodsamscortez.org\">director@goodsamscortez.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-bc083206618c8203e60b5ab5b42ba08a\"><a href=\"mailto:avanderveen@the-journal.com\">avanderveen@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-social-embed\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2FGoodSamsCenter%2Fposts%2Fpfbid016NBGvUFnFpSggY8qAK8wvTDA3Btc8BacsKkLVAxFcH4yF8PsWgPAqe4ELZMbxzrl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"707\" style=\"border:none;overflow:hidden\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" allow=\"autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sam\u2019s Food Pantry to promote water resources and Indigenous knowledge in new gardening workshop<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":131747,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[402,2222,28,29,1269,6419,295],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-131746","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-drought","tag-garden","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter","tag-nonprofits","tag-tj-trueanthem","tag-water"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131746","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=131746"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/131746\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/131747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=131746"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=131746"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=131746"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=131746"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}