Cultural heritage projects - story seeds: cultivating wellness and depth through Indigenous Plant Traditions
Web Debut, June 2025!
Pathways to History, City of Winnipeg Archives
Web Debut, June 2025! Pathways to History, City of Winnipeg Archives
This exhibit explores the better-known crops and plants domesticated, developed, and harvested by Indigenous people of the Americas.
Weaving together educational resources, photos, historical records, and other sources, it celebrates the food systems that grow cultural narratives, family and community as well as shared connections to the land through agriculture, nutrition, and wellness.
Story Seeds is curated by Métis artist and researcher Vanda Fleury, in partnership with Sarah Ramsden from the City of Winnipeg Archives and Colette Dufault of the Winnipeg Public Library.
The exhibit launched on June 6, 2022 at Millennium Library and ran until September 15th. It circulated throughout Winnipeg public libraries from 2022 - 2023.
In June 2025, Story Seeds took root in the digital landscape and is now part of the Pathways to Winnipeg History website, with generous support from the City of Winnipeg Archives.
Digital Exhibit
June 2025
“Dear Friends and Colleagues,
On behalf of the project team, I’m delighted to share the launch of our new digital exhibit: Story Seeds: Cultivating Wellness and Depth through Indigenous Plant Traditions.
You can now explore the exhibit online through the City of Winnipeg Archives’ Pathways to Winnipeg History website: winnipeg.ca/pathways
Originally a physical exhibit that toured City libraries and City Hall in 2022-2023, this powerful exhibit is now online. Story Seeds celebrates Indigenous plant traditions – it is a rich exploration of gardening, harvesting, family, and community. Through a blend of videos, photographs, historical documents, artifacts, and more, the exhibit highlights our shared connection to the land and its role in health, culture, and nourishment.
Curated by Métis artist and researcher Vanda Fleury, Story Seeds is a collaboration with the City of Winnipeg.
This has been a truly meaningful project for me to be part of, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to help bring these stories to a wider audience. I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Vanda for her vision, knowledge, and care in shaping this exhibit.
I hope you find it as inspiring as I have.”
— Sarah Ramsden, Senior Archivist at the City of Winnipeg Archives
Feature Images:
Additional Installations:
Media
“Story Seeds: Millennium Library.” Interview with Colette Dufault. Ethno Fest 2022 - U Multicultural Channel. Posted September 8th, 2022. https://youtu.be/1fT4wL2D53w
“Story seeds exhibit in Winnipeg.” Interview with Vanda Fleury. Global News Winnipeg. Posted August 11th 2022. https://globalnews.ca/video/9053042/story-seeds-exhibit-in-winnipeg
“Story Seeds exhibit explores the significance of Indigenous plant traditions.” By Tamara Forlanski for Our City, Our Stories. Posted July 26th 2022 https://winnipeg.ca/ourstories/2022/220726.stm
Notable Acknowledgments
Launch of the new digital exhibit, by Sarah Ramsden - Senior Archivist at the City of Winnipeg Archives. Members News, Association for Manitoba Archives. June 24, 2025.
Honourable Mention. 2024 Manitoba Day Awards: Story Seeds: Cultivating Wellness and Depth through Indigenous Crop and Plant Harvesting Traditions, by Vanda Fleury. Exhibitions category. Association for Manitoba Archives. June 4, 2024.
Parallel Activities:
