2. Why is this important?
• Native Americans sustainably lived off the
land for millennia
• Lack of healthful food is a serious problem for
all Americans, especially Natives
• Relearning and retaining cultural traditions:
eating in harmony with the land and your
genetics
4. Strong Connection to the Land
"The American Indian is of the
soil, whether it be the region
of forests, plains, pueblos, or
mesas. He fits into the
landscape, for the hand that
fashioned the continent also
fashioned the man for his
surroundings. He once grew as
naturally as the wild
sunflowers, he belongs just as
the buffalo belonged...."
- Luther Standing Bear,
Oglala Sioux Chief (argued in
Court that Natives should be
treated as people in the eyes
of the law)
5. Taming Nature and the Natives
Native Americans:
• Relocated, lost land
• Divorced from culture
• Taught to ranch and
farm using “western”
methods
• Western diet
• Reservations system
American expansion:
• Destruction of the
native species and
ecosystem
• Plowing up Prairie
• Sustainable ag.
compared to today
6. Health Crisis
•
•
•
•
Loss of cultural traditions
Poverty
Lack of land control
Policy Disconnect: Food
programs and dietary
needs
• 1.6 times as likely to be
obese than whites
• Higher rates of heart
disease and diabetes
• 50% less likely to engage
in physical exercise
8. Local Farming
Grants and Programs:
• Education on nutrition
and farming
• Greenhouses and
community gardens
• Facilities to add value
• Focusing on vegetables
9. Local Farming
First Nations:
“The Colorado Plateau is a large
geographic area covering parts of
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and
Utah. The development of power
generation on the Colorado Plateau
has negatively impacted tribes and
Native communities in the area. In
an effort to combat these
challenges, The Christensen Fund
and the USDA-Rural Community
Development Initiatives have each
donated $50,000 ($100,000 total) to
improve their local food systems
and strengthen their economies”
10. Food for Native Seniors
• Sipaulovi, Arizona –
$25,000
• Santo Domingo
Pueblo, New Mexico –
$25,000
• Pueblo of Nambe, New
Mexico – $25,000
• Ponca Tribe, Oklahoma
– $25,000
11. Three Sisters
• Chaco Culture
NP, Hovenweep
NM, Mesa Verde MP
• Allows for agriculture in
dry, arid climates
• Ancient system found
throughout North
America
12. Native American Food Sovereignty
Alliance
•
The NAFSA project is a collaborative
between First Nations and Taos
County Economic Development
Corporation (TCEDC) to support the
development of a sustainable,
nonprofit, Native-controlled and
nationally-active Native American
Food Sovereignty Alliance that will
operate independently to address
Native food security, hunger and
nutrition in Native American
communities at the national, tribal
and local levels. The purpose of the
Alliance will be to build a national
Native movement and voice on
Native food security and food system
control.
13. Value-added Products
Diné bé Iiná (The Navajo Lifeway), Window
Rock, Arizona
• In 2004, six Navajo weavers approached DBI
for assistance in organizing their own rug
auction so that they could exercise control
over management and income from this
endeavor, while training the weavers how use
their own or locally-produced wool to earn
more income from their work. Since that
time, the group has successfully conducted
rug auctions each year during the Sheep is
Life Celebration. Criteria accept only fiber
arts made with 100 per cent wool, with a
premium placed on using handspun, Navajoraised wool in natural colors or vegetal dyes.
Southwest Marketing Network has provided
technical assistance on forming a cooperative
business.
14. Bison
• A healthy bison diet
• Balancing between
tradition and living
• Restores key part of
local ecosystem
• Provides income for
tribes
16. Bison Traditions
• Cayuse Indians (Oregon)
once traveled hundreds
of miles on horseback to
hunt bison
• Montana gave permission
to the Nez Perce of Idaho
and the Confederated
Salish and Kootenai tribes
of northwest Montana to
hunt bison on federal
lands outside Yellowstone
• Using USDA mobile
slaughterhouses to
conduct rituals and
reduce stress on the
animal
17. Conclusion: Moving Forward
• Native Americans
returning to sustainable
cultural lifestyles
• Improving access to
healthful food
• Developing a local and
Native controlled
economy
Native American youth farmer markets
sell veggies from heirloom seeds –
Minneapolis, NM
18. Discussion:
• What is your understanding or experience of
Native American health issues?
• What do you think we can learn from Native
American food and cultural
• traditions when it comes to foodshed planning
in general?
19. Urban Farming and Zoning
Barriers to Growing Where You Live
April 1, 2013
Brian Potts, AICP
20. Zoning in Theory
• Preservation of quality of life, property value,
safety
• Land Use – What kind of uses can happen
where to prevent things like…
– Mix of uses: Living next to a steel mill
– Density: 40 story towers next to a small house
– Safety: buildings in flood-prone areas
• Main goal: Encouraging good development to
make quality communities
21. Zoning in Practice
• Most of the time this
works well but
sometimes regulations
lag behind societies
needs and mismatch
modern lifestyles
• Bad economy=home
occupations (including
small-scale farming)
• Hobbies: gardening
versus urban farming
22. Separation of Uses
Modern Zoning:
• Keep uses separate: Commercial,
Residential, Industrial,
Agricultural
• Ag and residential used to be
mixed
Today:
• Its good to live where you work
• Fighting “food deserts”
• Farming as an amenity
• Desire to grow food at home
23. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Aesthetics, height of plants, specifications for
types of plants, HOA covenants:
Intent – To prevent overgrown landscaping and
well maintained property to have a good
looking community and stable property values
In practice – Unintentionally prohibit front yard
gardening (sometime intentionally)
24. Discussion
• How do we grow more
food where we live?
• Can we grow all the
food we need where
we live?
• Identifying barriers…
Sipaulovi will work to ensure elder food security by reclaiming locally controlled food systems based on traditional knowledge, contemporary practices, and coming together for the common good. Activities will focus on restoring seed and water sources, reviving community farming and gardening, and growing, processing and sharing food in the traditional manner. The gardens will be a reliable source of healthy food for elders. Sipaulovi is a self-governing Hopi village founded in the early 1700s on Second Mesa, Arizona. Of the 900 village residents, 28% are elders over 55, while 40% are youth up to age 18.Santo Domingo Pueblo will implement a traditional farming program to engage seniors, farmers and youth in the community. Through the purchase and development of a greenhouse, the seniors will plant and cultivate traditional crops. The seniors will work directly with youth on a weekly basis to provide traditional education around the interrelationship of agriculture and various cultural practices, including songs, dances and prayers. The seedlings cultivated in the greenhouse will be sold to community members and transplanted by elders and youth in a community field, where programming will continue throughout the summer and fall. At harvest time, elders and youth will work together to harvest crops for sale at local farmers markets and convenience stores.The Pueblo of Nambe's Community Farm Project will use its local resources of land, water and sun to revitalize traditional agricultural knowledge while aiming to end food insecurity among seniors in the community. The Pueblo of Nambe’s project has four main components: the construction of a hoop-house, management of a program called “Inventory of Surplus,” establishment of a Senior Food Distribution Service, and the formation and operation of a food database. They hope that their efforts will not only help eliminate food insecurity among the Native senior population but also foster community involvement in food production and distribution.The Ponca Tribe will raise natural pork and provide it to tribal elders by way of its local food-distribution program and senior citizen center. The tribe will provide land for the venture, and the pork will be raised so as to ensure no hormones or other growth aids are used.
Blackfeet “natapiwaskin” which means real food referring to bison meat and kistapiwaskin means “nothing food” for all other food
InterTribal formed in 1990 with a mission of “reestablishing buffalo herds on Indian lands in a manner that promotes cultural enhancement, spiritual revitalization, ecological restoration, and economic development.” As of 2011, the Council involves 57 tribes with a collective herd of 15,000 bison. Management varies between tribes, some more rigid and others more relaxed. The Crow, with 1000 bison on 30,000 acres, issues hunting tags to the general public to manage the heard and provide some income. These tags typically are at least $2000 a piece depending on the size and age of the buffalo.
