We also lost many keepers of traditional foodways.

We are children of Ina Maka (Mother Earth), and we have our own traditional methods of hunting, gathering, planting, preparing, and storing food that are specific to the environment we in. We learn these ways from our elders.

For this reason, losing so many of them suddenly from the virus puts that information in danger of disappearing forever. Due to imposed poverty on most reservations and their isolated nature that cause them to be food deserts, Native communities currently struggle with ensuring that their populations have adequate, healthy nutrition. As it is, American Indians and Alaska Natives have a greater likelihood of getting Type II diabetes than any other racial group in the United States. We need every bit of ancestral knowledge saved. Our lives are at stake without it.

Tribal preservation offices throughout the country are working to document all the knowledge and collective wisdom that elders wish to share, primarily by recording their words, and tribal colleges located on reservations often provide elders with a venue to give lessons that teach traditional foodways, as well as skills like tanning hides and working with medicinal herbs. This is one way we are fighting to save ancestral teachings. Contrary to what some may believe, technology can be a useful tool in the process of decolonization and helping to preserve and revitalize Indigenous ways.

Our ancient food practices are dependent on the well-being of the ancestral lands we live upon. All of our teachings, nutrient sources, and cuisine are based on the landscapes we’ve lived in for thousands of years. A core part of our belief system is to think of the next seven generations in all that we do, too. It is our responsibility to ensure that the land that is their birthright is protected and will still be here when they arrive. This is why we are so dedicated to protecting our land and water, to the point of putting our bodies in front of bulldozers that threaten them.

While traumatic and harrowing, the pandemic gave me a greater appreciation for what my father taught me. Last spring, I planted and preserved my own tomatoes, potatoes, squash, onions, and pumpkins, and cooked wonderful meals with my own organic, homegrown ingredients throughout the fall and winter. My daughter harvested her first whitetail deer, and we made venison stew with the meat. As traditional Oceti Sakowin, we offer tobacco and a prayer of thanks for the bounty.





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