The Chickahominy Indian Tribe plays a vital role in Charles City County. As a deeply Christian community, they embody strong family bonds and a commitment to caring for one another and their neighbors. From the outset of our presence here, we’ve recognized God’s call to honor and partner with the Chickahominy people.

Troy Adkins has been a steadfast ally and friend since our beginning.  Troy is  a tribe member, and he sits on the Tribe’s governing council.  He recently agreed to join our board of directors with Promise Land as well! We are so excited to have this influential brother and representative of the Chickahominy serving on our own leadership team. Troy reached out to us about collaboration on the tribe’s community garden efforts. The Tribe’s plans for community gardens align perfectly with our long-held vision of creating ministry gardens through teamwork with local residents on our property.

The tribe’s goal is to cultivate healthy, organic produce—especially for the elderly and those in need—while promoting unity among tribal members and neighbors. We enthusiastically embraced this opportunity to host some of the gardens here.

Consequently, Dana Adkins, who oversees the tribe’s agricultural initiatives, worked alongside us and two other tribal staff to launch the project. Using their tractor and tiller, they prepared two adjacent 50-by-50-foot plots here on the farm: one for the tribe and one for us.

Several weeks in, both gardens are thriving. We will be working to encourage more and more volunteer involvement and expansion of the efforts. We’re currently growing heirloom Virginia corn varieties for meal grain and decorative crafts at powwows. This corn is so significant! The name, “Chickahominy” means, “the people of the coarse ground corn.” This tribe was known for their crops of corn–it is their very identity as  native Virginians. They are one of the first contact tribes with the English settlers, and their corn was a special new food to these first colonies. In fact, it was the Chickahominy’s corn that saved Jamestown from starvation during that first perilous winter the settlers faced.

Along with the corn, we are also growing  butternut squash, sweet potatoes, beans, tomatoes, watermelon, zucchini, and more. Above all, we’re fostering joy, unity, and love as we work side by side.