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Organization

Native Seeds/SEARCH

Native Seeds/SEARCH, a Tucson nonprofit founded in 1983, keeps a seed bank of more than 1,800 Southwest varieties and runs a seed rematriation process.

Kind
501(c)(3) nonprofit; allied/mixed
Native-led
mixed
Works with
More than 50 Indigenous communities of the Southwest (seed heritage)
Region
Southwest; AZ, NM
Focus
Seed bank and seed return to Indigenous growers (Rematriation Seed Donations program); food sovereignty tied to land and water access
Registry
EIN 94-2899356 (ProPublica legal name: Native Seeds Southwestern Endangered Aridland Resources Clearing House, Tucson AZ, NTEE C300)

What happened

Native Seeds/SEARCH is a seed conservation nonprofit in Tucson, Arizona. Its About page says it was founded in 1983 after farmers, gardeners, Indigenous community members and conservationists worried about the loss of seed diversity. It now conserves more than 1,800 regional seed varieties in a climate-controlled seed bank.

This is a seed organization, not a land trust. Its mission is to conserve and share the seeds of the people of the desert Southwest and Mexico. The site does not describe the organization as Native-led. It says its seed-bank advisory circle consists of community gardeners, farmers, and Indigenous people connected to the collection. The staff page lists Alexandra Zamecnik as Interim Executive Director, and the board page lists a chair, vice chair and eleven members.

Its programs include Community Seed Grants, a Native American Seed Share that gives a limited number of seed packets at no or reduced cost to Native American individuals in the Southwest, and a Partner Farmer Program that favors Indigenous farmers. It also describes a formal rematriation process: "the return of seed to a person or tribe with a direct relationship to those seeds."

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer lists the group, under its longer legal name, as a Tucson 501(c)(3) with tax exemption issued in October 1983.

Good to know. "Rematriation" here means returning seeds to the people connected to them, not land. The organization does not describe itself as Native-led.

Summarized with AI assistance from 5 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error

What the sources say, and how this was checked

Supported by the sources below; some details rest on one source.

  1. Founded in 1983 in response to the concern of farmers, gardeners, Indigenous community members, and conservationists about the devastating loss of seed diversityAbout Us - Native Seeds/SEARCH
  2. NS/S now conserves more than 1,800 regional seed varieties in a climate-controlled seed bank.About Us - Native Seeds/SEARCH
  3. Alexandra Zamecnik, Interim Executive DirectorBoard of Directors & Staff
  4. the return of seed to a person or tribe with a direct relationship to those seedsRematriation - Native Seeds/SEARCH
  5. Tax exemption issued: Oct. 1983 EIN: 94-2899356ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer: Native Seeds/SEARCH

Research notes. Seeds, not land. The organization does not claim Native-led governance, so the atlas should label it allied or mixed. Rematriation here means returning seed; the page read gives no count of requests filled. The advisory-circle wording is from the About page. The donation link is a NeonCRM form linked from its own site; payee not confirmed.

Visit the organization’s website or give directly on its own page. This site takes no money.

These links were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.

Works in 2

Sources

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The record’s fields
Vetting notes
2026-10-17: ProPublica hit under the long legal name, which matches Native Seeds/SEARCH, Tucson. Own site says staff include Indigenous people but does not claim Native-led governance; label as mixed/allied. Donate link is a NeonCRM form linked from its own homepage; payee not confirmed. Source: https://www.nativeseeds.org/pages/about-us ("consists of community gardeners, farmers, and Indigenous people connected to the collection")
Kind
Organization
Confidence
Medium

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