Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project

"According to the First Nations Development Institute, food sovereignty is defined as 'the inherent right of a community to identify their own food system.' This means that as a community we have the power to choose the food on our table."

 

Roots, berries, elk, and salmon were at the center of traditional food cloture for the Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest. During colonization these foods were replaced with a diet of a modern and dominant culture. Today, tribal communities are faced with degenerative diseases like diabetes and heart disease as a result of this superimposition. Despite this disruption, a  movement is rippling throughout Indian Country. Tribes are mobilizing by employing concepts of food sovereignty and reclaiming their food systems in order to collectively focus animating a culture of health for future generations. Valerie Segrest shares her experiences connecting her students to traditional foods and plant medicine that nurture our bodies and our revolutionary spirits.