Indigenous Food Sovereignty
Indigenous Americans are twice as likely to struggle with food insecurity than any other ethnic demographic. This is especially true on reservations, as these areas often do not have the infrastructure to produce adequate food or to ship groceries in a cost effective way.
As we work to tackle hunger in Arizona, it is important that we recognize the specific difficulties faced by our Indigenous residents. Our friends at the Arizona Food Systems Network work with Indigenous partners to develop and support resilient, independent food systems by and for Indigenous Communities. Learn more about Indigenous food sovereignty by reading the five stories they shared this year:
Guadalupe’s Semalulukut Community Garden – Shifting to Sovereignty
The Semalulukut Community Garden, centrally located along Avenida del Yaqui, provides a calming and grounding space in an area surrounded by noisy traffic, tire shops, and convenience stores. The garden is a project of the Pascua Yaqui tribe to grow and share traditional crops, plants, and herbs. In Hiak Noki (the Yaqui Language) Semalulukut means hummingbird. The hummingbird is said to be a sacred and revered part of the Sewa Ania. The Sewa Ania is one of the 5 Yaqui enchanted worlds that most represents what would be considered ‘heaven’. It is where the deer dancer, maso, and the spirits of loved ones travel to when they leave their physical form. Many believe the hummingbird are the spirits of loved ones that are visiting. Read more.
Expanding Land, Expanding Knowledge in Whiteriver, AZ
Ndée Bikíyaa, The People’s Farm, is located off state highway AZ 73 in Whiteriver, a census designated place on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in Navajo County, AZ. The farm was established in 2010 under the White Mountain Apache Tribal Water Resources Department to help increase the tribe’s hold on its water rights. Ndée Bikíyaa sits on land that has been farmed for generations, historically producing crops such as alfalfa and corn. An old orchard still sits on the 900 sprawling acres. The People’s Farm currently operates on 25 acres specifically set aside for growing produce but it hopes to continue to expand acreage in the coming years. Read more.
Providing Care from Womb to Tomb
Just as the Cihuapactli Collective was born of community need, so it has grown. Building on Maria’s experience as a professionally trained chef, the Food Forest Cooperative and Sana Sana Foods were developed to meet community demand for growing and purchasing ancestral foods. At the beginning of the pandemic, Sana Sana Foods transformed their food truck into a mobile food distribution truck, providing Native foods free of charge to participants. Sana Sana has been able to source foods such as blue corn, tepary beans, wild rice, coffee, and more from Indigenous producers and aggregators around the country, including Arizona-based QuetzalCo-op and Ramona Farms. Since the beginning of the pandemic, these food boxes have fought hunger, met nutritional needs, and brought back cherished memories. Read more.
Kaitlin Martinez Serves Up Traditional O'odham Dishes with a Twist
The food truck, The Ranch Mobile Eatery, belongs to Kaitlin Martinez, an Akimel O’odham and Diné from the Gila River Indian Community. Kaitlin is the proud daughter of the late Lionel Martinez and Melanya Sue Pasqual and her heritage as a 6th generation O’odham rancher really shaped her into the person she is today. Kaitlin explains, “By the age of 13 I was helping cook breakfast on a wood stove before heading out to work cows with my brothers and cousin. At the end of the day we were hauling water for our horses and for the house so we could have cool water to drink. Our grandfather had a steel bucket in his kitchen he would use for drinking water. It stayed cool inside and was the perfect temperature to drink lots of water after a long day's work. We all drank from the same little speckled pot. This really brought us closer together and I often reflect on those times. So much lessons in just simply drinking water with your family but not so simply because we hauled and worked for that water. Our grandfather really wanted us to learn the meaning of hard work.” Read more.
The Natwani Coalition Fosters Land Stewardship, Food Sovereignty in the Hopi and Tewa Community
Located in Northern Arizona for nearly 20 years, the Hopi Foundation’s Natwani Coalition (NC) has worked to promote the sacred covenant by leveraging levels of engagement from community volunteers, collaborators, and institutions on and off the Hopi reservation to preserve farming traditions, strengthen the local Hopi food system, and develop sustainable strategies that promote wellness. A non-profit organization, the Natwani Coalition ensures its initiatives work to expand community understanding and respect for the emergence, preservation, and renewal of life within the continuity of farming. Read more.
To learn more about the Indigenous Food Soveriegnty Program, visit AzFBN’s website and sign up for the newsletter!
