Gullah/Geechee Get Your Life! Honoring Our Roots on St. Helena Island
Gullah/Geechee cum fa git hunnuh life!
The soil of St. Helena Island, SC in the Gullah/Geechee Nation is truly sacred ancestral ground. You feel the power of this sacred energy when you place your hands in the soil. Every seed we sow carries a responsibility to those who came before us and to the generations who will inherit what we leave behind.
On Saturday, October 24, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon, Earth People Farm, Soil Stewards, and the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition will come together for “Gullah/Geechee Get Your Life!” in celebration of Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Awareness Month. Hosted on St. Helena Island, the epicenter of Gullah/Geechee culture, this gathering invites us to celebrate our heritage through the work of tending the land.
Participants will help repair and recondition raised garden beds and sow seeds for winter cover crops. There will also be an opportunity to forage and gather life-everlasting herbs growing on the farm. Those who want to continue cultivating this connection can sign up on-site to help tend the St. Helena Island Community Garden throughout the year.
Land That Carried Freedom Forward
For Gullah/Geechee people, land ownership holds a meaning that reaches far beyond a property boundary. Our land provides space for family compounds, farms and gardens, sacred burial sites, gathering places, and the continuation of a communal way of living. It holds the memories of those who taught us how to plant, what to gather, how to share what the earth provides and how to sustain the earth and our families.
Black land ownership and sustainability carries a profound history of freedom. During the Civil War, formerly enslaved people around Beaufort used their earnings to purchase land through federal tax auctions that began in 1863. These purchases helped establish a foundation for Black land ownership that endured across generations. While much of the coastal land allocated under Sherman’s Special Field Orders No. 15 was subsequently returned to former owners, many families around Beaufort County retained land acquired through the tax sales. Descendants continue to own many of these properties today.
Our ancestors invested their labor and earnings in a future where their families could put down roots. Owning land is the foundation of independence. It became the space for cultivation, and the building of community on their own terms. Therefore, when we gather on St. Helena Island to care for the soil, we honor their determination and continue in self-determination. We acknowledge that the freedom to grow food, sustain our families, and remain connected to home is a priceless inheritance that we value.
Cultivating Culture Together
Repairing a garden bed is a practical act of care. Sowing a cover crop prepares the ground for another season. Gathering life-everlasting is a cultural healing tradition. Doing this work together continues the intergenerational learning that is central to the continuation of Gullah/Geechee cultural heritage traditions. This event joins remembrance with responsibility. We celebrate the ancestors who acquired and held land by helping sustain the relationship between our people and the earth.
The invitation to volunteer throughout the year extends that commitment beyond one morning. A living garden needs continuing care, just as a living culture needs people willing to practice, teach, share and continue cultural traditions.
“Hunnuh mus tek cyare de root fa heal de tree.”
During Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Awareness Month, let us put this slogan of the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition into action. Let us gather in the epicenter of Gullah/Geechee culture, tend the soil, and help another generation understand the value of staying rooted.
Gullah/Geechee famlee, jayn we Satdee, October 24, from 9 a.m. to noon at A Farm Road, St. Helena Island, SC 29920. Take Sea Island Parkway to Tom Fripp Road and come down Tom Fripp Road to the site. Dress in outdoor work clothes with closed toed shoes on your feet and bring gloves. All participants must sign a liability release waiver before accessing the site or joining activities. Young children must be accompanied by an adult.
Cum get hunnuh life and keep Gullah/Geechee roots growing!