Campus Connection

This Native American Herb and Vegetable Garden in the backyard of the Mississippi Valley Archaeology Center is a growing opportunity to learn about Native American plants, tools and more. The garden is home to plants the Native Americans traditionally grew locally such as corn, green beans, summer squash, strawberries and sunflowers. The seeds for the garden are generated from plants cultivated in the Upper Midwest for a thousand years or more, says MVAC Director Joe Tiffany. Student volunteers help plant and weed the garden using replicas of Native American tools. “A lot of people who help out have no experience growing vegetables, so that is part of the learning process as well,” explains Tiffany. The campus community and public are welcome to step inside the MVAC building and find the tools used to traditionally plant and process herbs and vegetables as well as documentation of their use historically. The garden is dedicated to the late Merlin Red Cloud, a Ho-Chunk elder who supplied the original seed stock to start the MVAC garden. Walk in and learn about the Native American Herb and Vegetable garden and much more. MVAC hours are 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The MVAC building is located on East Ave. near the Cartwright Center on the UW-L campus.