About
The Farm
We tend the land with 7 generations in mind, a concept widely held by many cultures the world over. The farm celebrates all forms of foods emphasizing traditional native foods. What cannot be consumed or worn is then given back to the earth mimicking the cycles of life and death found in all ecosystems throughout the world.
The philosophies that create the foundation and drive the actions of the farm are holistic in nature. Creating a deep connection to place, sharing lore to build community founded on these relationships through shared stories and experiences is foremost for Good Rain Farm. Living in harmony with the land is no doubt challenging, more so these days when indigenous cultures are silenced, unrecognized and attacked as is the Earth as it confronts climate change. Together, through this farm, we can build and sustain food sovereignty for our community.
Xast Sqit Farm Land Acknowledgement
Xast Sqit (Good Rain) Farm is an organization led by and in service of Native people. The Farm is located in the Northern Willamette Valley, near the so-called Portland Metro. We acknowledge that we’ll always occupy land that holds the history of settler-colonialism trauma including but not limited to genocide, poverty, oppression, forced removal (Indian Relocation Act of 1952), and land theft (Dawes Act).
We acknowledge this land was first cared for by the Chinook, Clackamas, Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kalapuya, Atfalati, Wishram and so many more honorable peoples. Today we recognize and defer to the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde, Siletz Indians, Warm Springs and to the Tribes of the Yakama, Chinook and Cowlitz peoples.
We cannot farm without Land access. We support and demand #LandBack for all Indigenous peoples. We must work towards returning land, housing and access to cultural natural resources to Native peoples regardless where they currently reside.
Please take a moment to reflect on whose land you are on, and take action to be a better guest. Explore the original stewards of Turtle Island, please take a moment now to visit https://native-land.ca/ to learn more. By advancing strategies such as cultural easements, voluntary taxation, mutual aid and other tools for acknowledging, as well as repairing the complex history of colonization, Good Rain Farm builds on our goals of Food Sovereignty.
Additional Readings and Learnings:
Decolonization is not a metaphor: Tuck and Yang 2012 Decolonization is not a metaphor.pdf
Why a Land Acknowledgment? https://nativegov.org/news/a-guide-to-indigenous-land-acknowledgment/
Cultural Easement https://www.landtrustalliance.org/news/source-all-sustains-us
Link to Voluntary Taxation think piece. https://nativegov.org/news/voluntary-land-taxes/
National Young Farmers Coalition https://www.youngfarmers.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Racial_Equity_Toolkit.pdf
https://www.youngfarmers.org/land/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/LandPolicyReport.pdf
Voluntary Taxation Recipients may include those tribes listed and linked above or these organizations below: