07/17/2026
The Cherokee Nation became the first Indigenous tribe in the United States to store its heirloom seeds in Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
In a historic milestone for Indigenous conservation, the Cherokee Nation has deposited nine varieties of heirloom seeds into the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, located on a remote Norwegian archipelago near the North Pole.
Known as the 'doomsday seed bank,' this highly secure facility is designed to safeguard the world's agricultural diversity against global catastrophes, wars, and climate change. The Cherokee Nation is the first Native American tribe to deposit seeds in the vault, following a 2015 deposit by Peru's Andean potato guardians. This historic move represents a critical effort to protect invaluable crop biodiversity while preserving the living heritage of Indigenous peoples.
The sent specimens predate European colonization and include the tribe's most sacred variety, Cherokee White Eagle Corn, alongside the Candy Roaster Squash and three distinct bean varieties, including the Cherokee Trail of Tears Bean.
These crops, which are central to Cherokee identity and cultural ceremonies, have been meticulously passed down through generations.
Due to increasingly unpredictable global weather patterns, storing these seeds in Svalbard's permafrost provides an essential insurance policy. This secure back-up ensures that even in the face of ecological disruption, these vital pieces of Cherokee agricultural history will be preserved for centuries to come.
source: Lakhani, N. Cherokee Nation to preserve culturally important seeds in Arctic vault. The Guardian.
