{"id":43276,"date":"2024-11-11t18:13:44","date_gmt":"2024-11-11t18:13:44","guid":{"rendered":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/?p=43276"},"modified":"2024-11-11t18:33:18","modified_gmt":"2024-11-11t18:33:18","slug":"indigenous-food-sovereignty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"\/\/www.getitdoneaz.com\/story\/indigenous-food-sovereignty\/","title":{"rendered":"essay | indigenous food sovereignty is relational, scientific, and loving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
sitting circularly with people in a traditional saami indigenous nomadic tent \u2013 feeling the warmth of the fire and the softness of a hide at my hands \u2013 i watched conversations happen in many different languages. yet one language spoken was universal, and that was the love for food. as i sat and listened, i felt many questions rush to me. what would your community’s food system look like if you had collective control over your foods? what can we learn from history that we can carry into building a better tomorrow? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
take a moment to envision an alternate reality that encapsulates the past while imagining the future. personally, when i see collective and community controlled food systems, i see happy, healthy people who can cultivate and harvest food on a local level that works in alignment to the natural world, rather than against it. indigenous communities around the world have been engaging with their food systems in this way since time immemorial and continue to do so through the passing of intergenerational knowledge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
as indigenous communities in north america are sovereign nations existing within a settler colonial nation, their fight to enact food sovereignty has been and continues to be ongoing. food sovereignty<\/a> can be described as the \u201cright of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n while attending the united nations world food forum (wff) at the food and agriculture organization (fao) headquarters in rome, italy, i had the immense honor of attending a session called, \u201csafeguarding indigenous people\u2019s food systems for better nutrition.\u201d the session brought together three indigenous panelists from around the world to talk about their efforts and experiences in enacting food sovereignty within their own communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n after the session, i was able to meet daryl kootenay, the global indigenous youth caucus focal point for fao, to learn more about his specific community\u2019s food sovereignty practices and how it ties them to their place of being, fosters nutritional practices, and overall brings people together through connection to food.<\/p>\n\n\n\ndaryl kootenay and his food sovereignty efforts<\/h2>\n\n\n