b'serving seeds. Bill and his partner Belle later became directors of Native Seeds/SEARCH, also in Arizona, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preserva-tion of traditional and indigenous crops of the American Southwest and northern Mexico. The couple later founded an edu-cational nonprofit organization called the Rocky Mountain Seed Alliance (RMSA).In 2013, a large batch of the corn was grown at Native Seeds/SEARCH and in 2014, widespread distribution began. At first only Native Seeds/SEARCH sold seed, and the income supported the organizations conservation activi-ties. Soon, some other seed companies also started selling the seed as welland thats where its trajectory deviated somewhat from what Barnes, Schoen and others had intended.While seed companies do provide a way for people to access the seed of this corn and other heritage seeds, and commerce is part of our lives today, some people made a lot of money on it and used it more for self-promotion, Schoen explains. On occasion in craft markets, I saw seed of this corn being sold that seemed compromised, with more yellows and dull colors. Yet I admit that many of the small catalogue seed sources did pre- This glass gem corn has been crossed with Pueblo corn to produce different color hues sent it in a respectful way.than the standard rainbow jewel colors.I just want people to understand that this corn was originally intended to beNew Mexico, to preserve heritage seeds freely shared. The ancestral seed of thisand support and educate seed stewards.WHERE and all corn has been traded and sharedRecently, to help promote the free shar- ON THE WEBamong Indigenous peoples for thousandsing of the Glass Gem seed, Schoen and of years and thats the way I favor. Itothers have chosen to rename it.For more information on some of these organizations, becomes an unbroken lineage not taintedWhen the seed was developing intomake sure to check out their websites to find out more about seed sharing and other heritage seeds like the by the conditionality of the marketplace.its full expression, Glass Gem was one ofRainbow Jewel. corn.Thats the sacredness of it. the many names I used for the different At this point, the corn is being growncolor patterns I was seeing, and when IRocky Mountain Seed Alliance rockymountainseeds.orgin several countries and still being pickedtook some samples to Bill, thats a nameNative Seeds/SEARCH (Tucson, AZ)nativeseeds.org up by new seed firms. West Coast Seedshe noticed on one of the photographs I in Delta, British Columbia, for example, isalso gave him, Schoen says. He startedSeed Broadcast (in NM) seedbroadcast.org offering Glass Gem in 2021 for the first time.using that name and that worked for me.Seed Savers Exchange (Decatur, IA) seedsavers.orgHowever, Schoen remains in favor ofBut soon it became clear that Glass Gem the seed being grown and shared by thewas its commercial name. For that reason,Braiding the Sacredbraidingthesacred.org - completing a seed stewards of the world, growingI along with those at RMSA are now refer- documentary about Carl Barnesit as a labor of love and sharing it withring to this corn that is shared, rather thanThe Path (Estancia, NM)followthegoldenpath.orgothers as part of local culture. In 2012,sold, as Rainbow Jewel.he and others established a seed collec- Those interested in growing this corn tion for this corn and other seeds withcan participate in RMSAs Seed Steward Grandmother Flordemayo in Estancia,program, in which individuals commit FEBRUARY 2021SEEDWORLD.COM /27'