(MASHABLE) – Millennia from now, future humans might be snacking on heirloom crops provided by the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Nation is the first indigenous American tribe in the U.S. to be invited to contribute its heirloom seeds to the “doomsday” Svalbard Global Seed Vault, nestled deep inside a mountain on a remote island situated between mainland Norway and the North Pole.
The vault opened in 2008 and is designed to withstand natural and man-made disasters. It’s above sea level so it’s protected from ocean flooding that could be triggered by catastrophic sea-level rise, according to the international crop conservation organization Crop Trust.
With climate change threatening the world’s food supply, it’s good news the vault has the capacity to store 4.5 million varieties of crops. Currently, it has more than 980,000 samples from nearly every country in the world, representing the world’s largest collection of crop diversity. The tribe donated nine crop samples including its most treasured corn, the Cherokee White Eagle corn, according to a press release from the Cherokee Nation. FULL REPORT
