Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

The Founding Council for the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA) met recently on the homelands of the Santa Ana Pueblo to plan out priority actions and elect officers of the Board of Directors. The Founding Council and Board of Directors are grassroots food sovereignty practitioners who have been working on Native food issues for many years in their home communities. Their vision is “Advocating for and supporting all levels of food security and food sovereignty in local, tribal, regional, national and international arenas.”

Practitioners attending this meeting represented many tribal communities from the four directions, coming from Akwesasne, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, South Dakota, Oregon, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and South Dakota. The founding council elected the executive committee and officers, which includes President: Dan Cornelius, Vice President: Pati Martinson, Treasurer: Jon Mathews, Secretary: Elizabeth Hoover with at large members Pam Kingfisher, Rowen White and Nicole Yanes.

Restoring Native food systems is an immediate and fundamental need for the continued survival, physical and spiritual well-being of Native peoples and our Mother Earth- now and into the future. The Alliance is dedicated to restoring the Indigenous food systems that support Indigenous self-determination, wellness, cultures, values, communities, economies, languages, families, and rebuild relationships with the land, water, plants and animals that sustain us.

For the past few years, the Founding Council has been actively attending food sovereignty conferences and gatherings and sharing information about the Alliance with many Native people. They have found that there is great interest and people are asking for specific help and mentorship on how to begin food sovereignty projects in their communities. There is a clear call to action about the role of NAFSA in being able to help each other under this umbrella organization, “Our collective work is not just about creating sustainable organizations, we want to create sustainable communities”.

NAFSA carries the stories of grassroots tribal communities’ food sovereignty history and future – a communal space where Indigenous knowledge is stored. Our members represent those little seedlings in the movement and the nourishment they need is generally the same types of requests we found in our formal survey and in our conversations.

The Alliance has selected five projects to pursue in partnership with members and partners. 

One of the alliance’s first big projects will be to coordinate an Indigenous Seed Keepers Network, to generate resources that people can use. For example, we will gather and create Indigenous curriculums, seed policy templates and resources to create community seed banks.

Other projects include a publication telling stories, lessons and strategies of food sovereignty in Native communities; creating and nourishing a Youth Council and leadership project with mentor/apprenticeships; unite food practitioners, Chefs and traditional products to work towards Indigenous Culinary Arts; and host Native Food Sovereignty Gatherings.

NAFSA works to place farmers, wild crafters, fishers, hunters, ranchers and eaters at the center of decision-making on policies, strategies and natural resource management. As an Alliance, we commit to take collective and individual action to address food sovereignty, and to build the necessary understanding and awareness among our Peoples, Nations, leaders and policymakers, as well as our youth and coming generations, to make it a continuing reality.

The first action taken by the new Executive Council was to raise over $1600 for Indigenous foods, primarily wild rice, for the Standing Rock #NoDAPL Water Protector camps in ND. Just days before Thanksgiving our President, Dan Cornelius, delivered over 200 pounds of hand-harvested White Earth wild rice and Red Lake jams and syrups to the camp.

Indigenous foods were distributed by council members Dan Cornelius, Elizabeth Hoover and Nicole Yanes to the various kitchens, including Winona’s kitchen, Grandma’s kitchen, Pueblo camp, and Red Warrior camp, with the remainder used by Brian Yazzie as part of an amazing Indigenous Thanksgiving feast.

Want to become a member? Send us an email and we will send you the membership form. Membership in NAFSA is FREE! Join us!

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