Dr. Tammy Greer & Robin Whitfield

United Houma Nation citizen and Indigenous scholar Dr. Tammy Greer and Mississippi eco-artist Robin Whitfield come together for an immersive experience in the power, purpose, and beauty of medicine wheel gardens. Rooted in Native American planting traditions, these sacred circular gardens align with the cardinal directions that represent harmony across physical, emotional, and spiritual dimensions. In Southeastern tribal communities, medicine wheel and mound-shaped gardens are being reclaimed as spaces of healing, cultural memory, and ecological restoration.

Dr. Greer, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Southern Mississippi and director of the Center for American Indian Research and Studies (CAIRS), leads the wild-tended, thousand-square-foot medicine wheel garden on campus. Southeastern native plants used for food, medicine, tools, pigment, fiber, and ceremony fill the space. Dr. Greer works closely with tribal communities and students to revive traditional knowledge and address health disparities through land-based practices.

Joining her at the National Folk Festival is Robin Whitfield, an artist based in Grenada, Mississippi whose work centers on the creative and ecological uses of native plants. Robin create paint out of mud, leaves, berries, flower petals, mushrooms, charcoal, and mineral deposits, and her medicine wheel gardens tell a story through the color, texture, and placement of native plants. Her work invites participants to slow down and observe the landscape with reverence and expand ideas about ecology, natural areas, and art.

Together, Greer and Whitfield guide visitors through the symbolic structure of medicine wheel gardens, share stories and lessons on native plants, and offer demonstrations on plant-based pigments and garden design. At the National Folk Festival, festivalgoers are invited to connect with Indigenous land stewardship and imagine new paths forward rooted in balance, community, and care for the earth.