Garlic project closes loop on food sovereignty, access

The Inchelium Red Garlic Revitalization Coalition (IRGRC) hosted a garlic harvest event on Friday, as over 30 reservation residents gathered to learn how to harvest, dry and cure "Inchelium Red Garlic."

Named after the community where it was "discovered," Inchelium Red is purportedly the oldest strain grown in North America. Little is known about its history. Garlic not being native to North America, Inchelium Red garlic signifies early exploration and trade networks, organizers of the event said.

The harvest event was the follow-up to the garlic planting event held in the fall of 2024. Garlic is a crop that is planted in the fall and harvested in early summer. Reservation residents planted it in the garlic demonstration site on Columbia River Road near Nespelem. In the following months, Colville Reservation Conservation District oversaw and managed the site.

Colville Reservation WSU Extension Director Linda McLean and Lisa Matthews, with USDA's National Institute for Food and Agriculture Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program, provided an overview of the project and demonstrations on how to harvest and cure garlic.

On the day of harvest, 268 "beautiful" bulbs of garlic were harvested, they said.

"With help from reservation residents, the IRGRC was able to reach a major milestone and close the loop on food sovereignty and food access," they wrote in a release to The Star. "The garlic that was harvested was planted by community members on reservation land and harvested by community members for their use - some to eat and some to dry and cure for their own fall planting. Thus, providing food planted by the people for the people."

IRGRC is made up of organizations with food sovereignty/food access objectives and responsibilities: Blue Sky Minds, the L.I.G.H.T. Foundation, Conservation Northwest, Intertribal Agricultural Council, Colville Reservation Conservation District, and Colville Reservation WSU Extension.

Their main goal is to encourage people to grow their own food, of which Inchelium Red Garlic is just one example. Representatives from each program were available with information on their food systems work.

"The 2025 Inchelium Red Garlic harvest was a success," they wrote. "We can feed ourselves - food is medicine, food is life!"