WCMGA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee - Washington County Master Gardener Association

The WCMGA DEI Committee is a group of Washington County Master Gardeners who are working to help the chapter grow our efforts in the areas of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. We developed the WCMGA land acknowledgment that is read at chapter meetings and is posted at both our demonstration gardens, as well as accessibility and inclusivity assessments for our public events and volunteers. (Accessibility and Inclusivity assessments available below.) We planned and staffed a Master Gardener booth at the 2024 Hillsboro Pride Party and are working towards having a presence at diverse Washington County events in the future.

We meet in person at the Washington County OSU Extension Office on the second Tuesday of each month from 10am to 11am. We invite WCMGA members to join us! Allies welcome!!

Please contact Larina Hoffbeck at hoffbeck@frontier.com for more information.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Vocabulary

November, 2024: Indigenous, Indigenous Peoples

“Generally, Indigenous refers to those peoples with pre-existing sovereignty who were living together as a community prior to contact with settler populations, most often – though not exclusively – Europeans. Indigenous is the most inclusive term, as there are Indigenous peoples throughout the world – such as the Sami in Sweden, the First Nations in Canada, Mayas in Mexico and Guatemala, and the Ainu in Japan – fighting to remain culturally intact on their land bases. Indigenous Peoples refers to a group of Indigenous peoples with a shared national identity, such as “Navajo” or “Sami,” and is the equivalent of saying “the American people.”

–https://equity.ucla.edu/know/resources-on-native-american-and-indigenous-affairs/native-american-and-indigenous-peoples-faqs/

The members of the WCMGA DEI committee recognize that the terms and phrases used when discussing topics related to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion may be unfamiliar or confusing to many people. Definitions may also change over time. Since gardening is for everyone, we’d like to help foster understanding of DEI vocabulary with our members and other readers of Chapter Chat and the WCMGA website.

We hope you’ll check back each month for new words and phrases as well as examples of how Master Gardeners can incorporate these concepts into our work with the public and with our own members.

Please check out the following links for ideas on how to learn more about Indigenous people from the Tualatin Valley as well as throughout the USA:

Five Oaks Museum has in person and online exhibits detailing the history of the Kalapuyan people in what is today Washington County, Oregon. Check out their events page for an opportunity to hear Steph Littlebird talk about moving “Beyond Land Acknowledgments”.
You can also watch Steph Littlebird’s presentation to WCMGA from last November under our own “Education and Resources” page.
Washington County Cooperative Library Services continues their Grand Ronde Cultural Series through November.
The Confederated Tribes of the Siletz celebrates their 47th annual Restoration Pow-Wow in Lincoln City on November 16.
Visit the Chachalu Museum and Cultural Center at the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde
Learn about how Land Grant Universities used expropriated Indigenous lands.
Follow OSU Professor Dr. David Lewis’ blog “The Quartux Journal“

WCMGA and OSU Extension DEI forms and resources:

WCMGA Public Event Accessibility and Inclusivity Assessment WCMGA Volunteer Accessibility and Inclusivity Assessment An Introduction to Inclusive Excellence in Extension (Free online course available on demand to OSU Extension volunteers)

Growing Your Own promotional flyer (English)Su Propio Cultivo promotional flyer (Spanish)Gardens are for Everyone: Ideas for Accessible Gardening

Statewide Growing and Belonging Committee Information:

The Culture of Gardening : The voices of gardeners growing plants to connect with their heritage, culture, and identity

How's the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work Going? : Introducing the Growing and Belonging Committee

Links to outside organization information and resources:

The QUARTUX Journal : Critical Indigenous Perspectives This is Kalapuyan Land/5 Oaks Museum: A declaration of perpetual stewardship by the Kalapuyan people Land Grab Universities : How the United States funded land-grant universities with expropriated Indigenous land The Confluence Project

Disability Sensitivity Training Video (Links to dcGovernment Youtube)Eliminating Microaggressions: The Next Level of Inclusion (9-minute video)Centro Cultural de Washington County - educational and cultural center in Cornelius that offers aid and other services to Latinos Adelante Mujeres (Forest Grove) - offers Latina women and their families holistic programs and the tools to achieve self-determination in the areas of education, leadership training, and enterprise OSU Smallfarms - Black and Brown Farmers of Color in Oregon Feed'em Freedom Foundation - creating educational pipelines to agriculture for Black and BIPOC youth, Land Stewardship, Regional Food Security response, and economic prosperity as a means of gaining sovereignty for Black Oregonians.