Indigenously-Owned & Operated
The Seven Fires Initiative
Founded by Cole Stefl of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Seven Fires Initiative works at the intersection of Indigenous land-based knowledge and applied ecological science.
The work began with living soil — studying microbial communities, compost systems, nutrient cycling, and the biological relationships that allow land to function. That foundation has grown into a broader effort to strengthen the systems that support food sovereignty: healthy soil, locally adapted plants, perennial food production, nursery and propagation capacity, ecological restoration, and long-term land planning.
Modern tools such as microscopy, soil analysis, field monitoring, propagation research, and ecological design allow us to understand these systems in greater detail. Indigenous knowledge provides a much longer view — one grounded in relationships among plants, animals, people, water, soil, and the generations that come after us.
Seven Fires Initiative brings those ways of understanding together to build practical, place-based systems that can be carried forward.
From Living Soil to Living Food Systems
Healthy soil is the foundation of a resilient food system. Bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematodes, plant roots, organic matter, water, and minerals continually interact to cycle nutrients, build soil structure, regulate water, and support plant health.
Understanding those relationships remains a central part of our work, but restoring soil is not the endpoint.
A functioning land-based system also requires plants adapted to the place, reliable sources of planting material, perennial crops that can produce for generations, ways to cycle local organic materials back into the land, and communities with the knowledge and infrastructure to manage those systems themselves.
That is why Seven Fires Initiative works across soil biology, composting, perennial agriculture, nursery production, ecological restoration, and food sovereignty rather than treating each as a separate field.
Building Systems From the Land Up
Our work includes:
Soil health and biological fertility
Microscopy, soil assessment, compost and biological fertility systems, and long-term monitoring used to understand what is happening in the soil and guide practical management decisions.
Compost and local nutrient cycling
Developing biologically complete compost systems that make better use of locally available materials, including agricultural and community organic waste streams.
Perennial food systems and nursery production
Establishing productive trees, shrubs, and perennial crops while developing propagation systems and locally adapted plant genetics that can support long-term regional production.
Food sovereignty and land-based planning
Working with Tribal Nations, communities, farms, and organizations to strengthen the land, infrastructure, plant material, knowledge, and production capacity needed to build more independent food systems.
Ecological restoration and remediation
Using plants, fungi, microorganisms, carbon systems, and ongoing monitoring to restore biological function in degraded or contaminated landscapes.
Research, demonstration, and education
Building partnerships among growers, Tribal communities, colleges, researchers, and land managers to test ideas in the field and carry useful knowledge into future projects.
Carrying the Work Forward
The Seven Fires prophecy speaks of looking back to recover what was left along the trail and using that knowledge to choose a path forward.
For us, that means more than preserving old knowledge or adopting new technology. It means bringing both into the places where food is grown, plants are propagated, soil is rebuilt, and land is cared for — creating systems that communities can continue to develop for themselves and for the generations that follow.
Old Knowledge, New Growth.