Listening To Their Mother: Six Shinnecock Women Embark On Kelp Farming Venture

In any thorough examination of the history of the Shinnecock people, and of the Nation’s earliest interactions with colonial settlers dating back to the 17th century, there is a natural resource that pops up frequently, underscoring its importance to the tribe. It was used for nourishment, rich in calcium and iron; it is an excellent fertilizer, perfect for encouraging the growth of more food; and it was even used for insulation, as a way to trap heat in homes during long, cold winters.

Seaweed, or kelp, to be specific, has long been highly valued by the Shinnecock people. Much of the tribe’s earliest history is documented through what is known as the “seaweed cases,” early land transactions with colonial settlers that reserved the right for Shinnecock people to harvest it for the good of the community. It has even been found in the walls of old homes that have been torn down, evidence of the fact it was used to provide warmth.

Tela Troge, a tribal member and attorney who is actively involved in the legal battles to restore stolen land to the Nation, discovered just how important kelp has always been to her community and ancestors when she and others were going through the process of gaining historical recognition.

“It’s fascinating to think that the Shinnecock people have always used seaweed for such a wide range of purposes,” she said in a recent interview.

Ms. Troge and five other Shinnecock women — her mother, Darlene Troge, Becky Genia, Donna Collins-Smith, Waban Tarrant and Danielle Hopson-Begun — are now reviving and continuing that tradition, starting Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, a co-op that will work in partnership with two other entities to seed, grow, and ultimately harvest kelp in Shinnecock Bay.

It is the first Indigenous owned and operated kelp hatchery and farming collective on the East Coast.

Over the past year and a half, the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers have been working with Greenwave — a regenerative ocean farming nonprofit that provides technical support and assistance to groups like the Shinnecock farmers — to get the initiative off the ground. Greenwave provided the technical assistance the women needed to run four test lines of kelp in Heady Creek last winter, to gage whether or not the growing venture would be viable. It was a success, Ms. Troge said, and now the farmers have partnered with the Sisters of St. Joseph Villa in Hampton Bays, which has donated space to build a hatchery, where kelp seeds will be cultivated inside large water tanks where they will grow over the winter before being transferred to Shinnecock Bay and Heady Creek.

Sister Kerry Handal said the Sisters of St. Joseph were eager to be involved when Ms. Genia reached out to them about collaborating on the project and planting kelp seeds in Shinnecock Bay off the property at the villa. The sisters are happy to provide the space for the tanks and be part of the overall effort because it is in keeping with their mission and land ethic statement that outlines their commitment to protecting the local environment.

“We would be in favor of anything that would restore the health of the bay,” she said.

Cultivating and harvesting kelp is not just a way for the Shinnecock farmers to connect with their past and carry on an ancient tradition. It is a multi-layered lifesaving attempt, the women say, and when they speak about their efforts, they place more emphasis on the word “survival” than “success.”

“We know that as a Nation, we have got to do more for our planet and for our future,” Ms. Genia said. “We realize that things are really slipping through the cracks, and as Indigenous women of this beautiful divine Mother Earth of ours, we have a responsibility to contribute in a positive way to clean up the waters that polluters have absolutely made a rotten mess of.”

Global warming and the effects of climate change have had a particularly devastating effect on the Shinnecock Nation and other Indigenous communities, and the proof is in the declining shellfish and seafood populations in Shinnecock Bay. Kelp naturally removes from the water the harmful nitrogen responsible for those declines, which has become a bigger issue because of an increase in the population in the area over the years, specifically during the pandemic. The importance of reversing those effects, or at least slowing them down, became even more clear during the pandemic, Ms. Troge said.

“We’ve experienced such a drastic decrease in marine life in Shinnecock Bay, and it’s really concerning with the lack of access we have to food,” she said. “During the pandemic, we’ve done so much work with food sovereignty.”

Cleaning up the waters to allow life to flourish there again, and replenish what has always been an important food source, is the first part of the mission of the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers. But the project has the long-term potential to be an economic success story as well.

Kelp can be turned into an organic fertilizer, and in a perfect world, the farmers say it would be great to see more companies and homeowners transition from the harsh chemicals used to keep the lawns of nearby large homes and estates a pristine green to a product that can do the same job without a detrimental effect

Selling organic fertilizers made from homegrown kelp is still a dream that’s far down the line. For now, the farmers are still in the early stages of establishing the business. The kelp seeds will need five weeks to grow on spools inside the tanks at the hatchery, which allows them to control the temperature and set other ideal conditions for the seeds to grow. After five weeks, the spools will be moved to Heady Creek and Shinnecock Bay, a process that will not require scuba divers – as it does in some other kelp farming ventures. Planting the kelp in shallow waters will make it easier for the farmers to tend to and harvest the kelp, particularly in the early stages of learning the ins and outs of the trade. The fact that the crop is grown in winter, and in shallow waters, has several benefits, said Darlene Troge.

“It won’t be intrusive on any kind of boating and won’t be anywhere near where recreational or commercial fishermen might be. And we’ll be able to access the lines, check on them, and make sure there’s nothing invasive.

“It’s a great way for us to get started,” she continued. “To learn the industry and learn how our kelp is going to adapt and grow. We’ll be able to check what areas seem to be most hospitable and determine areas we might want to re-think.”

The kelp will be harvested before the start of the summer season, in May, and should be fully out of the water before Memorial Day.

Bren Smith is the co-founder and co-executive director at Greenwave, and said that while his company has thrown its full support behind the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers, he wanted to emphasize that they want the co-op of women to remain in full control of the venture.

“Our role is to provide technical support and help folks get up and running to start their own farms and hatcheries,” he said. “The first phase is the hatchery program, and training them to become hatcheries managers because we think it’s important for Indigenous communities to own their own seed.”

Smith said he’d like to see more and more communities follow the lead of the Shinnecock Kelp Farmers.

“It’s really important for communities to turn around and embrace the ocean and start thinking of new sources of food and climate mitigation,” he said. “Kelp and seafood have been essential to [Shinnecock] culture for generations; it’s really just about a revival and centering cultural tradition and skills in order to improve the waters and fight climate change.”

Smith explained that kelp forests — which he referred to as “the sequoias of the seas’’ — have been a core part of regulating the earth’s climate for a long time, soaking up nitrogen, carbon and phosphorus.

“Kelp is not the new kale or something else,” he said. “It’s the crop for this era of climate change, and can be a powerful tool to revive communities and traditions, and revive the economy.”

He said getting people to open their minds to the idea of using it as a fertilizer is important as well.

“I think shoreline owners have a duty and debt to the local communities and local ecosystem for the impacts they’re having, so this is an opportunity to really support something that can have a powerful, direct impact on the land and sea.

“What a radical concept that a community can grow its own fertilizer,” Smith added. “[Fertilizer] is something that’s imported globally, and takes an intense amount of natural gas to produce, so it really makes you think about the carbon footprint.”

Smith said making sure control of the business remains in the hands of Indigenous farmers like the women in the Shinnecock co-op is key, so that kelp farming doesn’t become “the next white land grab.” Commitment to that belief is why Greenwave operates as a non-profit, with “planned obsolescence” built in, Smith said. He’s excited for what the future could hold for the Shinnecock farmers.

“They’re really positioned to lead the way and be an example on Long Island and also elsewhere of how to do this right,” he said. “It’s so exciting. This could some day be the center of Indigenous regenerative ocean farming.”

The Shinnecock women involved in the effort are excited by that prospect as well.

At its core, their belief that their venture can be successful comes down to a concept that was handed down to them by their ancestors.

“Traditionally, our people have always understood that Mother Earth gives us what we need,” Darlene Troge said. “It’s an understanding we grew up with; it’s in our DNA. And we are listening to Mother Earth as we’re becoming overwhelmed with the climate crisis. We understand that the earth is offering Her bounty to us, so we are just following Her plan. And we are uniquely positioned to hear that voice.”

Listening to that voice is the first step. Taking action, even in face of what can seem like insurmountable challenges, is the second.

“You have to realize you can do something besides complain or throw up your hands,” Ms. Genia said, before adding that she was getting ready to attend a water honoring ceremony with some of her grandchildren and great-grandchildren. “You can do everything but surrender. Every individual has the power to help this planet, even if it’s just literally in your backyard.

“We get to participate in something that’s really essential,” she continued. “And that’s a beautiful thing, and something to be proud of.”