Indigenous Food Sovereignty and 1994 Tribal Land-Grant Colleges and Universities

Indigenous food systems are an essential asset of tribal sovereignty; however, these systems have been colonized, altered, and in some cases, destroyed. Although the causes are extremely complex, the loss of indigenous food systems is rooted in colonization, the removal of tribal people from their indigenous homelands, and the alienation of tribal people from their traditional foodways (Mihesuah and Hoover, 2019; Cote, 2016). Indigenous food sovereignty (IFS) “refers to a reconnection to land-based food and political systems,” and seeks to uphold “sacred responsibilities to nurture relationships with our land, culture, spirituality, and future generations” (Mihesuah and Hoover, 2019). Through the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994 passed by the U.S. Congress, there are 32 federally recognized Tribal Land-grant Colleges and Universities (TCU) designated as land-grant institutions that help improve the lives and career opportunities for tribal students and tribal communities by supporting research, education, and extension programs that include the enhancement of local agriculture and food production (Gasman et al., 2008). Overall the role of TCUs in building and supporting IFS is unknown, investigating why they are not more involved in IFS, and/or what barriers these institutions encounter will allow us to evaluate what type of resources they need to better serve indigenous communities and understand what can the TCUs do, to better support IFS as leaders? A comprehensive literature review on IFS within indigenous-led programming, non-indigenous initiatives, and its intersectionality with TCUs will be performed. Cote (2016) mentions that IFS is positioned as a restorative framework that places responsibility and action on [Indigenous] individuals and communities to repair and strengthen relationships to ancestral homelands weakened by colonialism, globalization, and neoliberal policies. To research these roles, a survey will be distributed and analyzed to at least three key individuals from each TCU, followed by interviews at selected TCU campuses. This work is vital to help tribal communities progress their sovereignty and IFS among their tribal communities and TCU campuses. References Cote, C. (2016) “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States. Humanities. Gasman, M., Baez, B., Sotello, C., and Turner, V. (2008) Understanding Minority-Serving Institutions. State University of New York. Mihesuah, D. and Hoover, E. (2019) Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health. University of Oklahoma Press.

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