b'The Road to Svalbard The Cherokee Nation made an unprecedented decision this fall:to deposit seeds into the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Treena HeinIT WAS LATE 2005when the world learned that a Doomsday global seed storage facility would be built to help ensure humanitys survival, deep inside a mountain in Norway hundreds of miles above the Arctic Circle. Like many other groups, the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma decided it would be a good idea to make a deposit. This decision took the Cherokee people on an unprecedented journey to find and secure their own ancestral seeds, coming full circle to deposit into the Svalbard Global Seed Vault only a few months ago.When the Cherokee Tribal Council asked for information about our seed stores in 2005, we quickly realized we had none, explains Pat Gwin, senior director of environmental resources of the Cherokee Nation. The Council members were aghast and declared it a priority to find and secure ancestral seed. I was given the task. I spent two years and traveled the entire country. The Cherokee Nation donated Cherokee White Eagle corn, the Gwin collected seed from many sources, including the U.S.tribes most sacred corn. Department of Agriculture, various heritage centers (even a museum display), the Eastern Band of Cherokee in North Carolinathe second level (Svalbard is actually a backup for the backup) and a Cherokee man named Carl Barnes. Barnes, who has sinceand made available to breeders and researchers, explains Cierra passed away, had bred Cherokee corn pre-dateing EuropeanMartin, communications officer at Global Crop Diversity Trust colonization. He was very relieved, says Gwin, that the Cherokee(Crop Trust), part of a small group which oversees the vault. This Nation was now making ancestral seed security a priority.process was established when the Seed Vault opened in 2008By 2007, Gwin and his colleagues had begun using the col- and has worked well for the past 12 years.lected seed to build a Cherokee seed bank program.Martin notes the Seed Vault operates very much like a In 2019, I was interviewed about the program on NPR, andsafety deposit box at the bank. Depositors retain seed owner-afterwards, I got a call from the Svalbard folks, he recalls. Nowship and are the only ones who can withdraw their own seeds. that some of our seeds are secured in Norway, only for our ownSeeds are typically sent by courier directly to the nearest airport future use if needed, I sleep better at night. In Oklahoma, one(Longyearbyen), but occasionally for large deposit ceremonies, tornado could wipe out our seed bank and our plots.they are brought by hand. To date, over one million seed samples have been deposited Seed Vault Updates in the Seed Vault from 87 depositors. Martin says that Seed Vault The Seed Vault is open to deposits from institutions, other seedstaff get inquiries from various parties who wish to deposit, but banks, Indigenous groups and local communities who wishthey also reach out to seed banks who have yet to do so. In addi-to deposit seeds in accordance with relevant traditional andtion, she reports that Crop Trust also provides funding for the national regulations.preparation and shipment of seeds from select genebanks around For an institution to send seeds to Svalbard, they must signthe world, especially in developing countries, to make sending a depositor agreement, which ensures the seed samples arematerial more feasible depending on the availability of funds.unique, important for food and agriculture, safety duplicated atTo date, 752,619 accessions have been supported.18/ SEEDWORLD.COMJUNE 2020'