Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development

Indigenous food sovereignty: Pathways for Native scholars

2025-01-21T18:58:03-08:00

Introduction

This inaugural column by the Indigenous Food Sovereignty Editorial Circle (IFSEC) in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD) introduces a dedicated section of articles on Indigenous food sovereignty in partnership with First Nations Development Institute (FNDI). The column and the IFSEC reflect both our mission to work toward a more equitable and just food system, and JAFSCD’s long-standing commitment to Indigenous food sovereignty, illustrated by the 2019 special issue[1] on “Indigenous Food Sovereignty of North America.” An Indigenous-led editorial circle as part of JAFSCD, IFSEC uplifts Indigenous values and community food system aspirations in academic publishing. As an introduction to the IFSEC, this column will briefly outline the centrality of food, place, and learning in Indigenous lifeways, the main differences between Indigenous and Western approaches to the food system, and some thoughts on the role of Indigenous ways of knowing and being for the collective flourishing of humanity and all our relations, human and otherwise. The cycle of themes, along with other emergent topics related to Indigenous food systems, will thread throughout future columns. The current geographic focus includes the continental United States, Hawai’i, and Canada. The geographic scope is determined by the territorial affiliations of IFSEC members and may broaden to include other nations and regions over time.

[1] See the special issue, JAFSCD volume 9, supplement 2, at https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2019.09B.024

IN THIS ISSUE: Indigenous knowledge at the food systems forefront

2025-01-21T18:55:49-08:00

First paragraphs:

Welcome to the winter 2024–2025 issue of JAFSCD! On our cover, we share a photo from the article Hāloa: The long breath of Hawaiian sovereignty, water rights, and Indigenous law, by Puanani Apoliona-Brown. The historical photo depicts a Protect Kaho‘olawe ‘Ohana (aka PKO or ‘Ohana) press conference at the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii, on January 31, 1977. PKO was a small group of Native Hawaiian activists who organized to stop the bombing of a sacred island that the U.S. Navy had used for target practice since World War II. Featured in the foreground are Leimomi Apoliona (at the left) and Dr. Emmett Aluli (at the right). The article’s author, Ms. Apoliona-Brown, is the daughter of Leimomi Apoliona and one of the research fellows whose work is shared in this issue.

We are pleased to feature a special section of articles produced by the Tribal Food Systems Research Fellows of the First Nations Development Institute. These emerging Indigenous scholars include Danya Carroll, Lynn Mad Plume, Nicole Redvers, Puanani Apoliona-Brown, Daniel Hayden, Amber Hayden, Stafford Rotehrakwas Maracle, Jennifer Tewathahá:kwa Maracle, Stephen Lougheed, and Jasmine Jimerson.

A thematic analysis of this special collection of papers is provided in our first Indigenous Food Sovereignty column, authored by Mapuana Antonio, Joseph Brewer, Richard Elm-Hill, Michael Kotutwa Johnson, Tabitha Robin, A-Dae Romero-Briones, Lois Stevens, and Keith Williams. We see this column and the first special collection of papers as the beginning of an ongoing effort to solicit and publish the work of Indigenous food system researchers, and we are grateful for the support of First Nations Development Institute to make this happen. A special debt of gratitude goes to Keith Williams for his Herculean work serving as associate editor for this special section, including mentoring authors and editing their manuscripts. Keith is very generous with his time and values helping young and emerging Indigenous researchers. We are privileged to have him engaged with JAFSCD! . . .

Restoring an Onkwehonwehnéha ecosystem

2025-01-21T18:50:09-08:00

This is a reflective essay on Akwesasne Freedom School’s effort to recreate a community of Onkwehonwehnéha (language and culture of the Original People) knowledge-sharing for healthier and more sustainable ways of living in alignment with the natural world, for the betterment of our people, the environment, and our Haudenosaunee (They Make a House, or the Six Nations) languages.

The Akwesasne Freedom School’s work promotes speaking our languages in our natural environment, reinforcing the ceremonial teachings inherent in songs, words, thanksgiving, and stories. The Akwesasne Freedom School intends to build relationships by creating an everyday learning environment that promotes relationship-building between families, plants, and medicines.

Rebuilding healthy Indigenous communities requires reconnecting the people and the earth by utilizing our Indigenous or Original foods, languages, and cultural practices. This reflective essay seeks to validate further the critical relationship between Indigenous people and Indigenous food systems, its impact on learning, and the overall health and wellness of language, environment, and people. It could provide a model or framework for other Indigenous communities to emulate.

Understanding Indigenous knowledge of conservation and stewardship before implementing co-production with Western methodologies in resource management

2025-01-21T18:41:41-08:00

In the face of an increasing global human population and multiple anthropogenic environmental stressors including climate change, the limitations of relying solely on Western science and approaches to mitigating impacts, conserving biodiversity, and managing resources sustainably is apparent. Many Indigenous Peoples have lived sustainably as part of their respective environments for millennia, passing conservation and management practices down generations despite colonization and genocide. Long-standing Indigenous knowledge and philosophies offer alternate worldviews that can complement Western conservation and resource management and may strengthen efforts to restore environmental integrity and conserve species and ecosystems. Researchers often tout the co-production of knowledge with Indigenous collaborators using frameworks like the Kaswentha (Two Row Wampum—Haudenosaunee) and the Etuaptmumk (Two Eyed Seeing—Mi’kmaw) without first seeking to understand the foundations of Indigenous knowledge itself, and its deep roots in environmental sustainability. We develop a thesis of the embedded relational nature of Indigenous knowledges and the unique strengths and perspectives that must be understood before effective and ethical co-production can be possible. We contend that Indigenous knowledge must be treated as a distinct framework to inform conservation and stewardship of biodiversity and nature, rather than selectively integrating it into Western science. Building relationships with local Indigenous nations will help actualize sustainable practices that are rooted in millennia of empirical data. This will help to promote a shift toward a holistic and relational worldview for more impactful conservation action.

A framework to guide future farming research with Indigenous communities

2025-01-21T18:35:36-08:00

We present a framework to guide applied research with Indigenous Peoples. Indigenous cropping systems are relevant to scientifically addressing many of the shortcomings and problems regarding current cropping systems. Indigenous food sovereignty movements are currently preserving and expanding their cropping system food ways. The knowledge underlying these efforts is not static but dynamic, incorporating contemporary tools in ever changing environments. We highlight four principles of Indigenous farming that are reflected in both practice and cultural traditions: polycultures, seed-keeping, sustainability, and community. These principles have been pivotal to the primary author’s doctoral research as they collaborate with Indigenous communities in Wisconsin to trial organic farming practices that utilize their traditional values and knowledge. We encourage more applied research in farming and natural sciences that uphold Indigenous ways of knowing as equal to Western science through collaborating with Indigenous Peoples. Researchers should be aware of the implications of research in Indigenous communities, involving the cultural boundaries associated with crops and seeds, which are often not regulated and thus warrant protection. As Western science seeks to find sustainable alternatives to current farming norms, as seen in other areas of land management, we encourage creating shared learning environments between researchers and Indigenous Peoples to foster relevant and equitable outcomes for farming practices.

Hāloa: The long breath of Hawaiian sovereignty, water rights, and Indigenous law

2025-01-21T18:31:06-08:00

This research explores how Native Hawaiian–led efforts to protect sacred lands and waters reveal forms of Indigenous survivance and resistance to the logics of settler colonialism. These forms range in visibility from direct protest to the perpetuation of Indigenous practices, values, and knowledge systems. Inspired by movements for social justice on the North American continent, the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s saw a reawakening of pride in Hawaiian culture within the context of the rapid changes brought by statehood in 1959. In response to the forceful thrust of Americanization and physical displacement of rural communities, young Native Hawaiians rose to defend their right to live as Hawaiians in their own homeland. As a result of the activism of the Hawaiian Renaissance, the 1978 Constitutional Convention reaffirmed Native Hawaiian rights previously codified by Kingdom law, which included a unique public trust doctrine grounded in Indigenous land and water management. My research is guided by the moʻolelo (oral histories) of nā kūpuna who were once the “radical” activists of the Hawaiian Renaissance. Their stories shed light on a history unaccounted for in standard textbooks and reveal a genealogy of Native Hawaiian resistance that was reawakened under the banner of Aloha ‘Āina (reciprocal love of land).

Food access interventions in American Indian and Alaska Native communities

2025-01-21T18:11:09-08:00

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in the United States represent culturally rich food landscapes and traditions. Yet, food access in AI/AN communities remains a public health issue. Food access is influenced by a myriad of factors that may interact at different levels of the social ecological model (SEM). Using a scoping review methodology, we aimed to map the existing Indigenous community food access literature in the U.S. to the SEM to identify common SEM impact leve ls that food access interventions are targeting. We further reflected on AI/AN community food access intervention gaps to inform future intervention targets. A systematic search strategy was developed and carried out in the following electronic databases with search dates from 1988 to 2023: PubMed, CINAHL, SocIndex, Academic Search Premier, ERIC, and Google Scholar. We then carried out deductive content analysis through the lens of the SEM using qualitative software. Intervention targets were identified based on what changes were highlighted in articles at each SEM level. Fourteen articles met the inclusion criteria for the review. Interventions targeted the ‘intrapersonal’ and ‘community’ SEM levels the most, while the ‘institutional’ and ‘public policy’ levels were the least targeted. Food access was promoted in various intervention formats, including supporting community and/or school gardens; providing seeds; providing traditional foods at school, family, and community events; and providing meals to families. Our review found that valuable research has been conducted on AI/AN food access interventions with many interventions targeting multiple levels of the SEM. Our review highlights the importance of leveraging strengths in AI/AN communities to enhance food access, including through culturally aligned programs and traditional foods. Further collaboration between AI/AN communities and researchers may lead to the development of more informed multilevel interventions that further integrate Indigenous methodological and culturally based approaches to improving food access.

U.S. farmers market attendance and experiences

2025-01-21T12:03:02-08:00

To provide farmers market leaders and researchers with new insights about farmers market attendees, given shifting consumer preferences and demographics, we conducted a nearly nationally representative survey in the United States. Among the 5,141 respondents, 38.51% reported attending farmers markets infrequently (i.e., five or fewer times per year), and 41.78% reported attending with more regularity (i.e., six or greater times per year). In combination, this equated to 80.30% of the entire sample having at least some experience with farmers markets (i.e., attending once per year or more). Of note, farmers markets were defined as places to buy local food directly from more than one vendor. Top motivations for attending included getting fresh food, supporting local farmers, getting high-quality food, and doing something fun, suggesting that promoting farmers markets with those themes should resonate with audiences. The top challenge to attendance was forgetting about farmers markets, indicating that campaigns or strategies to remind individuals about markets could be beneficial. Additionally, the majority of attendees reported that they ate healthier because of farmers markets and that they did nonconsumer activities at farmers markets, such as socializing and learning, underscoring that farmers markets can be a shared community experience that goes beyond consumption. We recommend that future work build on our results to further investigate how to expand the customer base for farmers markets and help people access the many benefits they provide.

Equitable food value chains through collaborative action [in an inequitable landscape]

2025-01-21T11:53:46-08:00

There is growing scholarly and practitioner interest in applying collective and place-based efforts to create equitable food systems. Drawing on community coalition action theory (CCAT), this paper explores the potential for enhancing food equity through collaborative action across the food value chain. Through a case study of a collaborative initiative to promote equitable food systems, this paper documents the possibilities and pitfalls of collaborative, cohort-based efforts within the inequitable landscape of Buffalo, New York (NY). The paper relies on mixed-methods data that include key informant interviews, participant observations, and surveys of organizations that participated in the Buffalo Community Food System Grant program. Corroborating prior research, we find that initiatives that seek to foster collective action offer unique possibilities for food equity, as well as some key limitations, especially within the context of a racialized food environment. Strengthening food systems by investing in relationships across food value chains opens new avenues for collective action. To promote food equity, new forms of collective action, including functional relationships across the value chain, must address deeper structural imbalances in the food system, such as those resulting from structural racism.

Getting into the weeds

2025-01-15T18:47:36-08:00

First paragraph:

In a world where industrial agriculture dominates, Vandana Shiva’s Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture: Sustainable Solutions for Hunger, Poverty and Climate Change asks a pivotal question: Can we transform our food systems to heal the planet and its people? Shiva’s work challenges conventional farming, advocating for a future of regenerative, organic agriculture. Shiva is an inspiring scholar and activist with expertise in food sovereignty, ecofeminism, and commoning. Drawing on decades of research conducted at her farm, Navdanya, and global examples from scholarly literature, she argues that regenerative agriculture is both viable and essential for tackling the interconnected crises of hunger, poverty, and climate change. In this book, Shiva takes the reader through six distinct agricultural issues with overlapping themes: seeds of biodiversity, soil and water, climate change solutions, biodiversity for pest control, food nutrition and health, and farmer livelihoods and rural economies. . . .