Food Tank’s Summit “The Wisdom of Indigenous Foodways” in partnership with the Swette Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Arizona State University and University of Hawai’i, West O’ahu brought together innovative voices in Indigenous foodways and rights–and the allies who seek to support them.
峰会表明，倾听本地社区，从农业实践中学习并保护其保护食品体系的权利很重要。“我们必须关心这种自然的丰富性，因为它将滋养我们的家人，无论是在身体上还是精神上都可以滋养我们的家庭。”夏威夷大学夏威夷大学校长Maenette K. P. Ah nee-Benham说。
On stage, speakers identified multiple ways that Native agricultural practices contribute to a more biodiverse, sustainable, and resilient food system. But these strategies mean much more than protecting the environment and health: to the Native communities represented onstage, their agricultural practices have spiritual significance. “The Hopi way [of planting] is faith-based. It isn’t a commodity; it’s a way of life. Hopi society is integrated with that, and that makes us really resilient,” says Michael Johnson, Research Associate at the Native American Agriculture Fund and a member of the Hopi Tribe. “To me, planting corn isn’t just putting seeds in the ground, it is sacred.”
演讲者同意，将这种祖先知识与当今技术相结合是其社区韧性和赋权的机会。旧金山州立大学美洲印度研究教授梅利莎·尼尔森（Melissa Nelson）说：“有一个新的年轻人的运动，将他们的长老知识与多媒体，电影和祖先土地的地图结合在一起……这有很多机会。”“土著食品系统不是民间传说，它们是科学的，他们需要受到尊重。”
“It is important to think about how empowered we can be to absorb our ancestors’ knowledge and still utilize the world we live in today with all the tools., technology—and exposure,” says Sean Sherman, CEO and founder of The Sioux Chef.
Overall, the speakers rise above the continuing narratives about their communities–that they face overwhelming diet-related diseases like diabetes and lack food access. “When I look at Native foodways, I don’t see gloomy statistics about diabetes and obesity; I see shoots of green coming up like a burnt forest regenerating itself—I see healing and regeneration for our food systems,” says Mariah Gladstone, founder of Indigikitchen.
“Compared to three years ago, foodways in Indian country are looking vastly different and we aren’t the statistics put in front of us,” says Gladstone. In tribes with a diversity of historical experiences and foodways, many of the speakers agree, instilling hope in the young people in their communities. “We have to have faith in young adults, that one day we’re going to step back and they’re going to tell us what to do on this land. If we don’t do that, we won’t be sustainable,” says Kamuela Enos, Director of Social Enterprise at MA’O Organic Farms.
