Indigenous Food Sovereignty
Media & resources for continued learning
There is no foraging knowledge or practice in the United States that is not learned from or built upon Indigenous knowledge and culture. As people living on stolen land, it is imperative to learn the history and resilience of Indigenous peoples, as well as financially and socially support Native-led food sovereignty initiatives.
Below is a list of books, podcasts, videos, organizations, and academic articles that I trust and have learned from. The descriptions of each resource is pulled directly from their respective websites in order to accurately represent the work and their impact.
Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States
Book
“Centuries of colonization and other factors have disrupted indigenous communities’ ability to control their own food systems. This volume explores the meaning and importance of food sovereignty for Native peoples in the United States, and asks whether and how it might be achieved and sustained.
Unprecedented in its focus and scope, this collection addresses nearly every aspect of indigenous food sovereignty, from revitalizing ancestral gardens and traditional ways of hunting, gathering, and seed saving to the difficult realities of racism, treaty abrogation, tribal sociopolitical factionalism, and the entrenched beliefs that processed foods are superior to traditional tribal fare. The contributors include scholar-activists in the fields of ethnobotany, history, anthropology, nutrition, insect ecology, biology, marine environmentalism, and federal Indian law, as well as indigenous seed savers and keepers, cooks, farmers, spearfishers, and community activists. After identifying the challenges involved in revitalizing and maintaining traditional food systems, these writers offer advice and encouragement to those concerned about tribal health, environmental destruction, loss of species habitat, and governmental food control.” -Synopsis on AbeBooks
Gather
Documentary Film
“Indigenous people and their food systems are resilient. We have withstood historical and ongoing attempts to starve, change, and alter every facet of our food systems. But we hold strong to our knowledge that food is a connection to our past, to our people, and to our lands. As we continue our push for access and protection of our food systems, First Nations Development Institute is proud to introduce this feature-length documentary film on the growing Native American food sovereignty movement.” - Gather Film About
Toasted Sister
Podcast
“After contact, Indigenous foodways and knowledge were devastated, nearly destroyed and replaced with foods that are far from the people. So today, I’m talking to Native chefs and foodies about what Indigenous cuisine is, where it comes from, where it’s headed and how it’s used to connect them and their communities to their origins and traditions.
This podcast is hosted by me, Andi Murphy. I started the Toasted Sister Podcast in January 2017 and talked with dozens of Indigenous people across the country about food. This is an award-winning podcast. It got first place for general excellence (in the professional division II) in radio and podcasting at the Native American Journalists Association 2019 National Native Media awards.” -Toasted Sister “About the Podcast”
Decolonizing Regenerative Agriculture: An Indigenous Perspective
Article
“We need to challenge, as a community, the historical narrative of this country that begins with this idea that the farmer is the true American, and that agriculture is really how our continent was started. It started long before that event happened in our country, and regenerative agriculture needs to challenge that narrative that has led us astray thus far.” -A-Dae quote pulled from the article
Food sovereignty: Valerie Segrest at TEDxRainier
TedX Talks Youtube Video
“The Indian tribes around the Puget Sound have practiced sustainable balance with its foods for thousands of years, but now the prairie lands and mountain berry meadows are disappearing and salmons runs are dwindling. Valerie Segrest, a member of Muckleshoot tribe and native foods educator tells us to listen to the salmon and cedar tree, who teach us a life of love, generosity and abundance, and to remember when we take better care of our land, we are taking better care of ourselves.” - Video Description
Indigenous-led Permaculture Brings Resilience And Food Sovereignty to Pine Ridge Reservation
Robin Greenfield Youtube Video
"The Oglala Lakota have been victims of abuses and corruptions for over 150 years which have led to severe food scarcity, health issues, and lack of housing security. It is our mission to change that." -Oglala Lakota Cultural and Economic Revitalization Initiative (OLCERI) [quote appears in Youtube Description]
Seeding Sovereignty
Organization & Instagram Account
“Seeding Sovereignty is a multi-lens collective that works to radicalize and disrupt colonized spaces through land, body, and food sovereignty work, community building, and cultural preservation. By investing in Indigenous folks and communities of the global majority, we cross the threshold of liberation together.”
Learn about their work
Follow their instagram
North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS)
Organization
“North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS), founded by James Beard award winners The Sioux Chef, is dedicated to addressing the economic and health crises affecting Native communities by re-establishing Native foodways. We imagine a new North American food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises.
NĀTIFS has opened The Indigenous Food Lab in the Midtown Global Market on historic Lake Street in Minneapolis. The Indigenous Food Lab is a professional Indigenous kitchen and training center covering all aspects of food service; research and development; Indigenous food identification, gathering, cultivation, and preparation; and all components of starting and running a successful culinary business based around Native traditions and Indigenous foods.
Reclamation of ancestral education is a critical part of reversing the damage of colonialism and forced assimilation, and food is at the heart of this reclamation. NĀTIFS will drive sustainable economic empowerment and prosperity into tribal areas through a reimagined North American food system that also addresses the health impacts of injustice.” -NATIFS Home Page
Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA)
Organization
“We are an organization dedicated to restoring the food systems that support Indigenous self-determination, wellness, cultures, values, communities, economies, languages, and families while rebuilding relationships with the land, water, plants, and animals that sustain us.
Through our efforts and programs, we bring stakeholders and communities together to advocate and support best practices and policies that enhance dynamic Native food systems, sustainable economic development, education, trade routes, stewardship, and multi-generational empowerment.
We work to put the farmers, wild-crafters, fishers, hunters, ranchers, and eaters at the center of decision-making on policies, strategies and natural resource management.”
-NAFSA About Section
Indigenous Food Sovereignty Sources Guide (FNDI)
Curated Resource List
“First Nations Development Institute has developed a number of reports, books, webinars, videos, and recipes related to food sovereignty. Resources can be found at the First Nations’ Knowledge Center … The following resource may be useful in the study of Indigenous Food Sovereignty.” -FNDI
First Nations Development Institute (FNDI) - Nourishing Native Foods & Health Program Resources
Curated resource list
“First Nations’ Native food policy expert A-dae Romero-Briones (Cochiti and Kiowa) shares this curated list of resources associated with the Nourishing Native Foods & Health program, starting with the ‘Q&A with A-dae.’” -FNDI
A Scoping Review of the Use of Indigenous Food Sovereignty Principles for Intervention and Future Directions
Article from the journal “Current Developments in Nutrition”
“Indigenous food sovereignty (IFS) represents a community-led movement with potential to reduce health inequities, but no scoping review of the impact of taking an IFS approach on intervention research has been conducted. This review sought to: 1) describe intervention studies that employ IFS principles, and 2) describe the impact of studies using IFS principles on food access, eating patterns, diet quality, physical activity, and health. Through a literature review, 4 IFS principles were identified: 1) community ownership, 2) inclusion of traditional food knowledge, 3) inclusion and promotion of cultural foods, and 4) environmental/intervention sustainability. Twenty intervention studies published between January 1, 2000 and February 5, 2020 were included. Most of the studies that scored high in IFS principles saw a positive impact on diet. This review found evidence supporting the value of IFS principles in the development, implementation, and evaluation of health interventions for Indigenous communities.” - Study Abstract
Are there other key resources that should be included in this list? Add them in the comments below!
Not directly about food, but about sacred tobacco foraging of red osier dogwood - Dakota people's tobacco used as an offering when foraging foods! https://www.pbs.org/video/tpt-co-productions-reclaiming-sacred-tobacco/