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Mohawk Mother Leads Land Rematriation Movement in Ancestral Territory
In the bucolic Schoharie Valley of central New York, blazing autumn leaves adorn the surrounding hillsides above flat river bottom lands that are among the most fertile in the world. Here in this valley the mighty Mohawk Nation inhabited one of its great village centers for centuries, if not millennia, until European “settlers” forced virtually all of them northward or into cultural assimilation. But that great wound is healing.
Now, through the inspired and untiring leadership of Kawenniiosta Jock, these sacred ancestral lands are once again inhabited by Mohawk people, and are once again being stewarded according to the ancient, Original Instructions. Welcome to Sky Woman’s Forever Farm, where Kawenniiosta and her family are tending acres of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, apple orchards, corn, beans, squash, and an array of other edible and medicinal crops.
In this special podcast episode, Kawenniiosta shares her journey with us, and discusses her process of destressing and decompressing after moving to the farm. “We build relationship with ourselves through the soil and the seeds,” she reflects, adding, “getting off the clock and being on nature’s time” is essential to awakening dormant knowledge and capacities, and to becoming “wild and free again” (made manifest, for example, in simple but profound rituals like dancing in every downpour with her children). Of course, there’s deep and series work as well: intergenerational healing work – including making ceremonial offerings while listening to the whisperings (and nudgings) of generations of ancestors who inhabited these lands previously and working in sincere, subtle service to many generations yet to come. For this work, Kawenniiosta shares, womb connection and heart coherence are paramount.
You are invited to visit Sky Woman’s Forever Farm, walk the 30 acres, and experience the “you-pick” berry patches (skywomansforeverfarm.org – please see website for public visiting days/hours), and are encouraged to support Kawenniiosta and her team through their Land Rematriation Fund. Through their special relationship with Bethany and Peter Yarrow (of “Puff the Magic Dragon” fame), Sky Woman’s Forever Farm is giving away 10 “Masters of Peace Ebony Keys of Healing” from the piano that Bob Dylan played while writing music in Peter’s Woodstock cabin. For donations of $50,000+, generous supporters will receive one of these 10 Ebony Keys of Healing (there were only 3 left as of the recording of our podcast together). Donations of all sizes are welcome and encouraged, and can be made at skywomansforeverfarm.org.
About Kawenniiosta Jock
Kawenniiosta Jock is a Kanien’kehá:ka woman from the Wolf Clan of Akwesasne and Creative Director of Sky Woman’s Forever Farm, an Indigenous-led initiative rematriating ancestral lands in the Schoharie Valley in New York State. A dedicated land steward, she integrates Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge with modern remediation practices to restore soil, water, and food systems affected by industrial pollution. Former Co-Executive Director of the Waterfall Unity Alliance, Kawenniiosta also brings years of experience in youth advocacy, cultural programming, and Indigenous fashion. She is a master seamstress, Full Spectrum Doula, and mother of six, committed to cultural revitalization, language preservation, and environmental healing. A graduate of the Champions of Change leadership program and a member of several Indigenous-led alliances, she works to advance sovereignty, sustainability, and community resilience through every aspect of her work. She wrote “The Liberation of a Mother Expressing Peace to Her Children and All Creation Has the Ability to Transform the World Around Us; That Is the Law of the Land” for the new book by Aaron William Perry et al., Our Biggest Deal.
Resources & Related Episodes
Website: skywomansforeverfarm.org
Instagram: instagram.com/lifeof_ksj
Facebook: facebook.com/kawenniiosta.jock.2025
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Sponsors
AndCO Hospitality, Bluestone Life Insurance, Brad & Lindsay Lidge Family Foundation, Clean Content, Climate First Bank, Dobrosphera Kind Media, Earth Coast Productions, Gaia.AI, Goodstead Financial, Patagonia’s Home Planet Fund, Husch Blackwell, Launch Legal, Regenerative World Quest, The Riverside – Boulder, Shaye Skiff Communications, SoundLightFoundation, Verona Rylander Philanthropies, and Wele Waters
Transcript
***Coming Soon***
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