Swinomish member returns to provides food for thought and nutrition

Anna Cook is getting back to her roots on many levels.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community member, a La Conner High School alum who went on to earn a degree from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, is a vocal advocate for food sovereignty through her work with the acclaimed 13 Moons project.

She was drawn to the cause in great part by her family’s involvement in hosting plant workshops. Her interest grew further after starting college.

Today, as a result of her affiliation with 13 Moons at Work – an environmental health and sustainability curriculum founded on indigenous first foods and technologies – Cook finds herself performing a variety of tasks. Those range from researching and harvesting native plants, delivering produce to Swinomish elders, maintaining the 13 Moons garden at Northwest Indian College and creating infographics highlighting the program.

The goal and mission of 13 Moons is to encourage better nutrition and regularly put into practice native traditions that have stood the test of time.

“I’m gratified,” Cook told the Weekly News, “because my job is so multi-faceted.”

A former standout athlete at La Conner High who also excelled in the classroom, Cook has returned to her alma mater as an assistant girls’ basketball coach. She brings the same passion to her day job as she does to the court each evening during hoops season.

Cook was formally introduced to the concept of food sovereignty four years ago. After that, she had the opportunity to attend a food sovereignty conference on the Skokomish Reservation.

“Tribal leaders from around the Coast Salish area discussed what food sovereignty means to them and what it means to their tribal communities,” Cook recalled.

She said it literally planted a seed of curiosity as to what was being done at Swinomish in terms of food sovereignty and how she could get involved.

Her professional growth has been fostered by Myk Heidt, the Swinomish community environmental health coordinator, Dr. Jamie Donatuto, a Swinomish community environmental health analyst and tribal elder Larry Campbell.

“Being able to work closely with Myk on the ground has been so eye-opening,” Cook said. “She has taught me so many things about gardening, native plants and medicine making. Being able to gain this knowledge is so important for future generations so we can work on continuing to pass it along in a good way.”

The 13 Moons garden features an array of native plants – from common camas to huckleberries to Labrador and much more, said Cook.

“We also have an expansive variety of veggies that we grow for our weekly produce stand that we host,” she said. “This has been a new addition to our program in the last year, where we take our garden harvests and offer them to the community.”

Some have called the 13 Moons garden one of the local area’s best kept secrets. That secret is getting out, though, said Cook.

“We’re excited that we have a series of videos in the works with Children of the Setting Sun, she said. “Based off of Swinomish’s 13 Moons calendar, there will be a video for each moon and what seasonal event takes place during that time.”

For Cook, timing has been everything when it comes to the arc of her career.

“The summer before my senior year at Evergreen,” she explained, “I was looking for a summer internship. I reached out to Myk and she referred me to AmeriCorps VISTA, where they had a program that allowed me to work as a native food sovereignty summer associate.”

Following her internship, Cook returned to Evergreen and completed work on her bachelor’s degree. She graduated just prior to the outbreak of COVID-19.

That timing would have been bad had it not been for the positive impression she had made previously with Heidt and Donatuto.

“I was in search of a job and Myk and Jamie expressed that they would welcome me back if I was interested,” Cook said. “I’ve been working with them since that spring of 2020.”

Cook hit the ground running. It was not long before she was invited to address organizations and universities – the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and Western Washington University to name a couple – on issues related to food sovereignty and the 13 Moons approach. She takes those speaking assignments seriously and preps hard beforehand to assure they are beneficial to all parties.

Cook feels obligated to honor the groundwork laid by previous generations.

“My ancestors are my role models,” she said. “I’m reminded of my ancestors so often with the work that I do. When I go to harvest plants or work in the garden, I think of all those who were before me doing the same work but in different capacities. It’s very surreal to imagine that the work that my ancestors did around food sovereignty was very much a lifestyle and their livelihood.

“Something that really grounds me,” Cook added, “is knowing that I am far from the first person to do the work that I do. When I harvest madrone bark, for example and add it to hot water for tea, I recognize that I am not simply drinking a cup of tea. Rather, I’m sharing a cup of tea with my ancestors because they drank from that same blend.”

Lessons grounded in the past can teach much about healthy living and wise management of resources going forward, said Cook.

“Ethical harvesting can’t be emphasized enough,” she said. “The Swinomish people have been on this land since time immemorial and recognizing and respecting that is crucial for the longevity of our natural world and native plants so they can continue to live on for future generations.”