Partnership at Rocky Boy builds community garden

Jason Gutzmer, University of Montana adjunct instructor, helps build garden boxes on the Stone Child College campus on Rocky Boy Saturday afternoon.

Agencies from across Montana worked this weekend to improve the quality of life for local diabetics.

University of Montana researchers partnered with members of the Rocky Boy Health Board, Chippewa-Cree Diabetes Clinic and Stone Child College Friday and Saturday to build a community garden behind Stone Child College on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation.

The 22 raised-bed vegetable gardens will be tended by participants in the Chippewa Cree Diabetes Prevention Program. The vegetable gardens aim to provide a higher quality selection of produce for Rocky Boy residents and to reduce the impact of diabetes in the community.

"This summer the beds will be used by folks in Rocky Boy but we hope to eventually expand the program to other reservations and communities, " said Blakely Brown, a researcher involved with tribal health from the University of Montana and community garden coordinator.

The National Institute of Minority Health and Montana State University's Center for Native Health Partnerships provided $40,000 to fund the community garden and supporting programs, including classes to teach program participants food preservation techniques and ways to use locally grown produce.

The high rate of diabetes on Montana reservations provided motivation for program, said director Martin Parker. He hopes the community garden will improve the local diet and encourage residents on the reservation to plant gardens in their own yards.

"Right now you don't see too many homes with gardens, " Parker said. "But hopefully the community garden will encourage more people to start gardening at their own homes. We hope the community garden can be a stepping stone to something bigger. "

The rate of diabetes in Native Americans is 2.5 times greater than that of the general Montana population, according to the Montana Diabetes Project. Poor diet and a lack of exercise contribute to increased risk for diabetes.

"I grew up eating fatty foods, and it's hard to give them up, but the time has come. We need to change our diets, " Parker said. "The exercise that you get from gardening will lower blood sugar as well as the vegetables from the garden. "

Planting will begin in May as long as the weather cooperates. Additional funding provides for the construction of two greenhouses by June or July.

Brown is conducting additional research on the how the garden will affect diet and the incidence and progression of diabetes on the reservation.

"Rocky Boy can use the outcomes of the research to leverage more funding for additional raised beds and more community gardens, " Brown said.

The partnership between organizations on the reservation and both halves of the Montana University System that made the garden possible developed in the past two years said Mary St. Pierre of the Stone Child Extension Program.

"We all work together to make projects like this come together, " said St. Pierre. "That's why partnerships are so great. "

Creating partnerships, funding and building the garden is hard work, but for those at Rocky Boy Reservation, it's worth it.

"Anything to help our diabetics. " said St. Pierre.