The summer harvest is upon us, and out on a farm in Peshawbestown, good things are growing.

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ Agricultural & Food Sovereignty Department took shape in an effort to produce food and food products for the community. The tribe has roughly 1,000 acres of land once in agriculture spread across its six-county service area—which includes Charlevoix, Antrim, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, Benzie, and Manistee—with the farming focus concentrated on their Peshawbestown gitigaan (garden) and sites in Antrim and Charlevoix.

Will Derouin is the agriculture manager for the department. He’s gearing up for a big week with the GTB’s Kchi Wiikwedong Anishinaabek Maawnjidowin Peshawbestown PowWow this weekend, where he’ll be selling this season’s bounty and offering tours of the farm on Saturday afternoon (Aug. 20). That intersection of food production and community connection is where the department thrives “About 50 percent of this program’s focus is trying to develop economically self-sustaining food production,” Derouin says. “The other 50 percent is more community focused.”

Read more about the Band's food sovereignty program in this week's Northern Express, sister publication of The Ticker. The Northern Express is available to read online, or pick up a free copy on newsstands at nearly 700 spots in 14 counties across northern Michigan.