Denise O’Brien and Larry Harris have strived to create a brighter future. For almost 50 years, they have worked to preserve and improve the soil health on their farm and fight for thriving rural life for future generations.
For their lifetime of work, the couple from Atlantic, Iowa, was recognized with the Center’s 2023 Seventh Generation Award at our Southwest Iowa Local Foods Summit on Nov. 8, in Malvern, Iowa.
The couple linked up with the Center in the late ‘70s while researching alternative energy. They found our Small Farm Energy Project and traveled to Walthill to tour farms.
“There we met people who were pretty like-minded, not so much organic, but looking at alternatives for energy and other ways of farming,” Larry said.
Through their association with the Center, in the early 1980s, they hosted a workshop and fitted their hog farrowing house with a solar panel to provide heat. The weathered and out-of-date solar wall remains on the building.
Through the farm crisis, they depended on the Center for Rural Affairs for its policy work. Denise, cofounder of the Women Food and Agriculture Network, started programs alongside the Center. And, they are faithful readers of the newsletter.
“We’ve certainly appreciated the Center’s resources,” Larry said. “Not only what we’ve been involved in, but the main street entrepreneur work. And, later women-focused food and agriculture work.”
The Center’s Seventh Generation Award is a lifetime service award presented to an individual or individuals who have made major contributions to improving rural life and protecting our land and water. Larry and Denise have done just that.
“It’s been a lifetime of doing things, and to be recognized is really special,” Denise said. “This award is not about us, it’s that there’s a different way to do things. We’ve been around a long time, the Center has been around for a long time.”
“We are just doing things the way we thought we should,” Larry said. “It’s humbling because there are a lot of people who are just as deserving.”
They truly are working to preserve the land for future generations, including their three children and eight grandchildren.
“Hopefully as we transfer the land to the next generation, we’ve instilled in them the principles and the philosophies of caring for the land,” Larry said. “And, we’ve tried to educate them, as much as we could so that every ensuing generation has a chance to survive.”
Through the years, they have had delegations visit their farm from many countries including Japan, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and more, as well as mentored numerous beginning farmers.
“Our legacy is that we’ve lived our principles and it’s based on the land ethic of thinking about the seven generations to come,” Larry said. “Native Americans thought about and considered their impact on the earth and we want to honor that.”
“We are trying to leave the land as good or better than when we acquired use of it,” added Denise.
At the Local Foods Summit, the couple was also presented with a Star Quilt, one of the most valued gifts of Native peoples, and draped over the shoulders of the recipient to symbolize protection on their journey through life. See below for more on this honor.
For more of Denise and Larry’s story, read our previous blog here.
The Star Quilt
Design
The pattern is made of small diamonds pieced together in eight sections. These sections join
together to create the eight-point star. The pattern of the star quilt is inspired by the Morning
Star. The Morning Star is the last and brightest star on the eastern horizon before dawn. It is
believed the Morning Star represents the way the spirits come to Earth and serves as a link
between the living and those who have passed.
Historically, star patterns were created with plant dyes and adorned buffalo hides and tipis.
With the government’s policy that allowed mass shooting of the bison (tatanka), which sent
Native Americans to reservations and prompted the arrival of settlers and missionaries,
textiles replaced the hides.
Star quilts are a living tradition: they are not just blankets or quilts. Every patch represents a
person (although there is no name on it) and it means that you are surrounded by those who
love you and support you—you are kept, protected, and cared for.
Presentation
The star quilt’s tradition of honor grew as the quilts were draped around the shoulders of
warriors and hunters when they returned from battle or a successful hunt. It was also
presented at funerals to honor loved ones on their final journey.
Today, star quilts are one of the most valued gifts in Native Nations and are still draped over the shoulders of the recipients to symbolize protection on their journey through life. Star quilts may be used:
- As banners in schools for graduations and other school functions
- As altar cloths in churches or placed on top of sweat lodges
- To mark momentous life events such as a wedding or a child’s birth
- As a gesture of sympathy to a family honoring the passing of a loved one
Generosity is an important virtue among the beliefs and traditions of Tribes. The image of a star
quilt serves as a reminder of the significance and honor that comes from giving to others. This
sharing is not just of objects and possessions, but of emotions like sympathy, compassion, and
kindness. It also means to be generous with one’s time. The act of giving and not looking for anything in return can make you a better person—and happier.
