Charlie Gourd of Carter’s Landing said he was excited to get his heirloom seeds from the Cherokee Nation.

The nation’s Natural Resources department has spent years collecting more than 20 types of seeds for plants that are native to the original Cherokee homelands in the southeastern United States.

They began distributing seeds to tribal citizens recently. Most applicants for seeds are limited to one type of seed, but Gourd was able to persuade personnel affiliated with the seed bank for three types.

“I got the basket gourds, the October bean mix, and Cherokee colored flour corn,” said Gourd, 60. “The bean mix is good because no one particular virus can wipe it out.”

Gourd said his first reason for getting the seeds was to help preserve the plants and expand the range in which they are grown.

“These traditional varieties haven’t been hybridized,” he said. “It’s to continue genetic and biological diversity. Back at the sesquicentennial of Columbus, we did a thing at the Smithsonian called Seeds of Change, and that was one of our projects. Then at the Atlanta History Center, we did a living history and culture exhibit there, and we collected seeds that have not been cross pollinated.

“They had a beautiful garden. When I saw that, I thought wow, that’s what I really wanted to do to continue that and maybe participate in it.”

Cultural ties to the plants also was a factor in being a part of the recent distribution.

“That’s the main motivation, because in our aboriginal territories in the southeastern part of the United States, we were primarily agriculturally-based, with the hunter-gatherer lifestyle on the side,” he said. “I didn’t realize how much diversity there was in native plant species. I’m just real pleased about that.”

Pat Gwin, Cherokee Nation Natural Resources supervisor, said demand for the seeds has so been high, the supply ran out. The Nation is taking names for a waiting list.

“The idea behind the seed exchange was to let Cherokee Nation citizens become part of the heirloom plant project by giving seeds out so people could grow their own bit of Cherokee history,” he said. “Somewhere between 400 and 450 people have requested seeds. Some of these people are nice enough to give back seeds after their plants have grown.”

That keeps up the supply in the Cherokee Nation’s seed bank; a large freezer containing millions of seeds.

“We started about two years ago we got several types of seeds from the original Cherokee removal area,” Gwin said. “We were able to get some corn from an expert who lives out in the panhandle, and from several other sources like museums and things like that. Last year we had all our ducks in a row and started our first grow-out. We had five or six garden sites.”

The Nation is asking gardeners who participate in the project to send a few seeds back to the tribe after harvest to help keep the Cherokee Nation’s seed bank supplied. This will help the program expand and ensure that future generations are able to enjoy the heirloom plants.