Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health (Volume 18)

New Directions in Native American Studies

by Devon A. Mihesuah (Editor), Elizabeth Hoover (Editor), Winona LaDuke (Foreword)

“All those interested in Indigenous food systems, sovereignty issues, or environment, and their path toward recovery should read this powerful book.” — Kathie L. Beebe , American Indian Quarterly

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.
 
 

Genres: Food, Nonfiction, Indigenous, History, Social Justice, Politics, Native American

390 pages, Paperback

Published August 8, 2019

Reviews

[Klaire Kuckelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for class and I really enjoyed it!

[Sue Ricketts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book tells the story of how important food is to the health and culture of indigenous people and how colonization and forced resettlement practices have ruined entire societies. It highlights the various ways leaders are trying to restore what was lost by tracking down seeds, restoring hunting and fishing traditions, and advocating for healthier diets. Fascinating book.

[Clivemichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good summary of relevant perspectives and guidance.

[Mary Anne]

4.5 STARS

How this book ended up on my TBR: Did you know that November is Indigenous Peoples Month (or Native American Heritage Month) in the United States? Nope, I didn't either, but it does make sense, given Thanksgiving and all the myths surrounding it. My library is rather small, but I've found that they are fairly cognizant of indigenous peoples (well, my area of Wisconsin in general). They had a table devoted to indigenous food culture, and I picked this book up from it!

I mean, if you know me, you know I'm at least curious about social justice issues, and I've actually learned quite a lot since moving to Wisconsin. I almost always have at least one student per semester who is a member of an indigenous community, and they will often use my class as an opportunity to speak out about issues concerning their community.

This book essentially has two parts, if you can parcel them out in such a manner. The editors and most contributing authors do talk extensively about the concept of food sovereinty, whether it's the right term, and why it's essential to the cause of righting the wrongs the indigenous community has uniquely felt. The longer part of the book looks into redefining food culture as being more than about food. I like that the contributing authors came from multiple sections of the US, demonstrating the way that some tribes uniquely experienced injustices and how they are working to strengthen their communities. Kle Powys Whyte makes this point very clearly in his chapter: "However, the word 'food' in the English language often connotes something far simpler than what many Indigenous persons I know seek to invoke when they say 'food justice,' 'food sovereinty,' or 'first foods.' In reality, and depending on the peoples, food actually refers to different conceptions of collective self-determination that integrate ecological, cultural, social, and political dimensions of our lives as members--or relatives or kin--of our Indigenous societies, communities, and nations. And, in many Indigenous worlds everywhere, societal membership and kinship are not confined to the human species; or, in many cultures, there is not even a privileging or concept of the human in the first place." Indeed, the contributing authors always discuss food in conjunction with concepts such as health, injustice, and climate change.

This book helped me to see that everything changed with colonization. And, for the Indigenous people, life did not change for the better. Shocking, I know. But I think society tends to blame Indigenous people for circumstances that were well beyond their control. To add more complexity, not all Indigenous people agree to the same course of action when it comes to righting past wrongs. That shouldn't be surprising. There are some wrongs we can't undo, especially with climate change and the powerful forces behind it. And maybe it's also because I just finished Nick Offerman's "Where the Deer and the Antelope Play", wherein he argues for reparations, but I can't disagree. Reparations won't fix everything, but I hope they can be one step in the right direction.

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PS. My days on GoodReads are likely numbered. If you all ever go to The StoryGraph, let's be friends there! Here's my profile.

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book for an online course I took. It was a fascinating book as each chapter described how various tribes were regaining their sovereignty by returning to the foods they used to eat pre-1492 (or as close as they can come, depending on whether or not any "pure" seeds are capable of being found). It was a book filled with knowledge, history, and hope, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading it.

The book also relates how the U.S. government failed to fulfill its treaty responsibilities to the various tribal nations, and how it used providing unhealthy foods in conjunction with removing the natural foods eaten by the various tribes for centuries to force the tribes to become even more dependent upon the U.S government. This dependence extends to various tribes not being able to gather their traditional foods (be it by hunting, fishing, or harvesting) despite treaties stating otherwise. Nothing new there, but the road of regaining this part of their sovereignty is one filled with promise, and the tribes taking an active role in regaining their sovereignty are filled with optimism at what the potential future can bring their peoples with a return to eating healthy foods and engaging in a healthy lifestyle.

It was an eye-opening book, and I am glad that I read it for this class, as I might not have read it otherwise.

[Sequoia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So many amazing stories and perspectives about indigenous food sovereignty in the US. This book described the differences between food security (has led to concentration of food production in corporations) and food sovereignty 1)right to food is sacred, 2)day-to-day participation 3)self-determination 4) legislation and policy support. Indigenous food sovereignty is not just rights to land and food but the responsibility to good reciprocal relationships with the all elements of the food system. I really appreciated all the nuance in these chapters (about fusion food, different value systems) and that the editors collaborated with so many different indigenous people. The middle of the book had a lot of focus on some of negative outcomes of colonization and capitalism on the well-being of those indigenous the the US (obesity, diabetes, etc) due to being removed from their land/ foodways. I really appreciated the last few chapters about California (one big food system! Acorn at the center), soils, and Nephi Craig/ Cafe Gozhoo.

[Tayler Morrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very informative book. I enjoyed learning about some of the indigenous diets of Native American tribes, as well as how good sovereignty attributes to social justice and the “land back” movement. As someone who is very interested in family history and genealogy, I thought this information was very pertinent - I don’t have any Native American heritage but the fact that there are those passionate about preserving this information, reclaiming indigenous seeds, and protecting environments and social health is very impressive.

[Christine Sopko · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relevant, current collection of articles on indigenous food.

[Eleanor · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5/5.

[Carol Cao · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States" is an enriching essay collection by scholars and activists, examining the colonialist harm on indigenous traditions and the ongoing resilience and restoration of history and food.