Four Sisters Farm
About the Farm
Four Sisters Urban Farm brings the community together to improve healthy food access, and celebrate Indigenous heritage and culture. We seed opportunities to grow fresh and healthy food and heal land, bodies, and spirits. With this, we strive to create a more inclusive, welcoming, and accessible ecosystem in our racially and culturally diverse neighborhood.
The project site is located along East 29th Street between Bloomington and 18th avenues south near the Midtown Greenway in the East Philips neighborhood of South Minneapolis. Neighbors have roots from around the world, as well as Little Earth—a housing complex uniting Native Americans from 39 tribes. Eighty-seven percent of nearby residents are people of color and 73% speak a language other than English at home.
The urban farm houses art fixtures, community garden plots, a free library regarding food sovereignty, and lessons and events throughout the growing season.
History of the Farm
Hennepin County Railroad Authority (HCRA) and Midtown Community Works approached NACDI with a proposal to transform three plots of land in the East Phillips neighborhood. They selected NACDI as a partner due to our leadership with the Four Sisters Farmers Market and the 24th Street Urban Farm Coalition. NACDI began a process in which we surveyed the neighbors in East Phillips to discern what they would like to see with the land. The survey included either an in-person interview or an online process, and we received over 300 responses. Residents overwhelmingly suggested that the land be activated with an urban farm and green space. Midtown Community Works invested roughly $120,000 to begin the process of transforming the three sites and building infrastructure.
NACDI and HCRA signed a long-term lease on the three plots of land in the East Phillips neighborhood, along the Midtown Greenway, on 29th Street between Bloomington and 18th Avenues. Midtown Community Works managed the process of removing concrete obstructions to create a flow for the three sites and installed a water source and trees were planted. NACDI then partnered with HIRED, an agency that works with youth, and they built our 42 raised beds.
NACDI then raised funds from the Department of Agriculture to hire an urban farmer and agricultural consultant. We are rapidly activating the land and recently received funding from the City of Minneapolis’ Office of Violence Prevention to hire a Food Sovereignty Coordinator to establish relationships with all of the local stakeholders and begin community-based programming.
Urban Farm Permanent Landscape Art Fixtures
Four Sisters Urban Farm has worked in collaboration with All My Relations Arts and Chicago Avenue Fire Arts Center to present the piece “Mind, Body, and Spirit Trifecta” by artist Graci Horne.
“Mind, Body, and Spirit Trifecta” is a piece intended to share knowledge and create an environment to receive wisdom. Wisdom comes from anyone and does not have to come from family members, much like the Dakota way of life it was not just up to one or two family members, it was our whole nation that was responsible for cultural continuity.
The project meditates on how art can bring healing, especially to an urban Native community where the city holds a traumatic history and its cement voids take up most of the land for capitalistic purposes. The space is meant to be a tool for connection to each other as community members and connection to Kunsi makah/ grandmother earth.
The project partners’ shared goals include:
- Support community safety and wellbeing
- Restore health and well-being in the Urban Indian community by recovering knowledge and access to Indigenous food, medicine, and lifeways
- Improve access and sense of welcoming to the Midtown Greenway corridor for the local community
This project includes the design, fabrication, and installation of permanent, functional landscape fixtures on the Four Sisters Farm site on Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA) property along East 29th Street in East Phillips between Bloomington Avenue and 18th Avenue South in south Minneapolis.
Hapistinna Graci Horne, better known as Graci, was born and raised in Minnesota. Her bands are the Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota people and the Hunkpapa Lakota/Dakota people. Horne holds a degree in Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, NM. She is a mixed-media artist with expertise in exhibition design, planning, and curation, as well as educational programming. She loves to combine both art and protecting Grandmother Earth. Horne’s passion projects encompass using art as a way to raise consciousness and engage viewers to preserve the earth. She has created environmental awareness and peace-themed art activities for all ages.
Farm Events
Four Sisters Urban Farm Survey
If you live, work, or play nearby we want to hear from you! Let us know how we’re doing and provide feedback for future growing seasons.
Partnerships
Free Library Submission
Are you interested in food sovereignty and have resources you’d like to share (zines, recipes, handouts)? Submit them to us and we will supply them in our little free library!
Staff Contact
Gloria Iacono
Four Sisters Food Sovereignty ManagerLocation
The farm is located at 2839 17th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55407, on the streetside of the Minneapolis Greenway. Street parking is available.