About Michelle Week and x̌ast sq̓it (Good Rain) Farm

Michelle Week is a farmer at x̌ast sq̓it Farm. x̌ast sq̓it means "Good Rain" in the traditional language of the the Arrow Lakes Peoples. Good Rain Farm is located on the rainy, foggy, grey west side of the Cascades. x̌ast sq̓it Farm believes that through connection to a place we can rebuild a culture of respect, honor, gratitude, and reciprocity.

Farmer Michelle is of Sinixt—or the Arrow Lakes—ancestry, a First Nations People of Okanagan country of British Columbia and north-central Washington. She is a first-generation female farmer stewarding the land, decolonizing diets, connecting with her ancestry’s cultural traditions, and feeding people to help restore her community’s food sovereignty.

She’s excited to be a member of the next generation of farmers and excited to build a cooperative business that helps grow and support the cooperative and solidarity economies for a more just and healthy future for her community.

About This Workshop

Taking breaks to stroll under a Oregon white oak savannah, a curiosity was piqued. In the beginning formation of Good Rain Farm, Farmer Michelle would often look up from toiling in the soil and gaze at these oaks. Through this exploration, Michelle was reconnected to her ancestry. Both lineages coexist and rely on these plant relatives. This journey has only just begun, and has been a rekindling of traditional ecological knowledge, a struggle with reconciliation, and a reckoning with the past and how it may help us peer into the future we dream of.

In this workshop on the eve of the Spring Equinox, Farmer Michelle will talk about what inspires her and what fuels her hope as she builds food sovereignty and connection through Good Rain Farm. Throughout the event, participants will have the opportunity to explore their unique heritages through activities, dialogue, and reflection, reconnecting to practices of reverence for place and for all those we share our homes with. We will gain meaningful insight during our time together, leaving with actionable steps rooted in reparations and rematriation to support a more equitable, inclusive, and well-nourished community.

Register for this So Much Together workshop.