Meet Your Farmer
Sxʷk̓ʷanɬqm Michelle
(Sinixt word for farmer)
Pronoun: She/Her
Favorite Veggie: Leeks , followed by parsnips!
Michelle is a returning first generation farmer. Her great grandfather was a Rancher in North Dakota. Her Grandfather Week ventured west to the Idaho Panhandle and had a successful logging career in which her father is still a participant. Her Grandmother Mills resides in Coeur d’Alene, happily retired now. She is the maternal source of Michelle’s Sinixt, Arrow Lakes, lineage by way of the Colville Confederated Tribes. Michelle wasn’t told that farming was a career pathway, although she always had an affinity to be outside rain or shine.
Once she realized that she could be outside, working her mind and body she doesn’t think any other job could make her as happy. It’s hard work, and long hours, but stewarding the land, decolonizing diets, connecting with her ancestry’s cultural traditions and feeding people is her way to help restore our community’s food sovereignty. She’s excited to be a member of the next generation of farmers and excited to build a cooperative business that helps build and support the cooperative and solidarity economies for a more just and healthy future for her community.