Indigenous Foodways

Spring Alaska Schreiner, owner and principal ecologist at Sakari Farms, reaches down to lift a planting and its root systems inside one of six smaller greenhouses. (Photo courtesy of Sakari Farms)

Farm Bill Funding for Indigenous Food Producers Needs a Boost

May 8, 2023

Skya Ducheneaux, a lender focused on growing Native food businesses, explains why unequal funding opportunities are harming Indigenous entrepreneurs.

Can Sean Sherman’s BIPOC Foodways Alliance Dismantle White Supremacy Over Dinner?

By Kate Nelson

April 25, 2023

Chef and food writer Mecca Bos (left) and Native American chef Sean Sherman (center) launched the BIPOC Foodways Alliance to preserve and share food stories from various communities of color. They recently hosted their first communal dinner to share different cultural approaches to cooking and sharing food. (Photo credit: Uche Iroegbu)

Supreme Court Case Could Reshape Indigenous Water Rights in the Southwest

By Virginia Gewin

March 15, 2023

A close-up view of center-pivot irrigation watering corn on NAPI farmland. (Photo courtesy of NAPI)

Alaska’s Climate-Driven Fisheries Collapse Is Devastating Indigenous Communities

By Kate Nelson

March 13, 2023

An Alaskan king crab trap and fishing vessel.

After Centuries of Exploitation, Will Indigenous Communities in Biodiversity Hotspots Finally Get Their Due?

By Mark Schapiro

March 7, 2023

Sailing in a wooden boat on the Amazon river in Peru. An indigenous girl sitting on the front of the boat whilst sailing down the river.

Indigenous Foodways Are the Focus in a Growing Number of Classrooms

By Renata Birkenbuel

February 15, 2023

Indigenous and non-native Great Falls students and staff gather around hides of six bison, including a freshly killed bison, as Indian Education Director Dugan Coburn (in blanket coat) demonstrates skinning the bison and honoring its life with thanks with a sage-burning and pipe prayer. The sage smudge burns away any bad energy. Sweetgrass burning welcomes the good. (Photo credit: Great Falls Public Schools)

The Farm Credit Administration’s First Indigenous Chairman Wants to Level the Playing Field

By Gabriel Pietrorazio

January 12, 2023

Eldrige Hoy, left, and Bryson Sam, members of the Choctaw Nation, seed a high tunnel with Iron Clay peas as a cover crop to improve soil quality. (USDA photo by Bob Nichols)

Climate-Driven Drought Is Stressing the Hopi Tribe’s Foods and Traditions

By David Wallace, Inside Climate News

December 2, 2022

Ann Tenakhongva, 62, and her husband, Clark Tenakhongva, 65, sort traditional Hopi Corn at their home on First Mesa on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona on September 28, 2022. The corn comes from the families’ field in the valley between First Mesa and Second Mesa, which Clark had just harvested. The corn is organized on racks to dry out and then stored in cans and bins for years to come. Much of the corn is ground up for food and ceremonial purposes. Corn is an integral part of Hopi culture and spirituality. (Photo by David Wallace)

This Mother-Daughter Team Is Sharing Food Traditions from the Ho-Chunk Nation

By Gabriel Pietrorazio

November 22, 2022

Elena Terry, (left) and Zoe Fess smile after showcasing Seedy SassSquash, a signature family dish, during the Smithsonian’s

Renata Birkenbuel Joins Civil Eats as Indigenous Foodways Reporting Fellow

By The Civil Eats Editors

November 1, 2022

Indigenous Foodways Fellow Renata Birkenbuel at Belt Creek in Monarch, Montana.

Native Farmers Push for More Equitable Training and Support in the Farm Bill

By Gabriel Pietrorazio

November 1, 2022

Nakai Clearwater Northup stands behind three traditional ethnobotany gardens, which he manages at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center. At one time, his people solely relied on them to maintain their cultural connections to food before the founding of Meechooôk Farm. (Photo by Gabriel Pietrorazio)

As the Pacific Lamprey Declines, Native Tribes Work to Protect Sacred Eel-Like Fish

By B. Toastie, High Country News

October 21, 2022

A member of the Yakama Nation plucks a Pacific lamprey off the rocks at Willamette Falls, Oregon. (Photo credit: Mason Trinca/High Country News)

Decolonizing Regenerative Cattle Ranching

By Ray Levy Uyeda

October 10, 2022

Kelsey Scott (left) and Monte Scott (right) pose together in front of a herd of cattle on the families' ranch in the Cheyenne River Reservation. (Photo credit: Jennifer Zeller)

Native Tribes Are Bringing Prairie Land Back to the Pacific Northwest

By Claire Elise Thompson, Grist

September 16, 2022

A group sows camas seeds on the Jamestown Tribe’s 1.5-acre prairie site. (Photo credit: Miranda Wilson)

Meet the Researchers ‘Decolonizing Botany’ to Save Our Food Supply

By Mark Schapiro, Inside Climate News

September 9, 2022

Researchers explain pearl millet pollination techniques in India. Credit: Michael Major/Crop Trust

Meet the Group That’s Been Bringing Bison Back to Tribal Lands for 30 Years

By Gabriel Pietrorazio

July 26, 2022

The Fort Belknap Indian Reservation in Harlem, Montana, has gathered an estimated 45 buffalo during two ITBC transfers in 1996 and 2014. (Photo courtesy of the InterTribal Buffalo Council)

This Pilot Program Is Supporting Tribal Food Sovereignty with Federal Dollars

By Kalen Goodluck

July 5, 2022

A Growing Movement to Reclaim Water Rights for Indigenous People

By Kayla Devault, YES! Magazine

June 3, 2022

The Chacoan Great House of Pueblo Bonito from above the desert of New Mexico in Chaco Canyon

Op-ed: Climate Change Is Bringing Agriculture to the Arctic. Let’s Prioritize Food Sovereignty.

By Mindy Jewell Price

May 11, 2022

farming in alaska (Photo courtesy of the Alaska Department of Natural Resources)

The Revival of Indigenous Subsistence Whaling Hangs in the Balance

By Andi Murphy

February 8, 2022

A bowhead whale caught in September 2021, during the fall whaling season, in Utqiagvik. (Photo courtesy of Mary Lum Patkotak)

A Native American Food Truck Is Keeping Tribal Cultures Alive

By Zeb Larson, Belt Magazine

February 4, 2022

The NAICCO food truck in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo credit: NAICCO)

Op-ed: Saving Heirloom Seeds Can Protect Crop Diversity

By Helen Anne Curry, The Conversation

January 27, 2022

Glass gem corn (Photo credit: hthrd, Flickr)

A Return to Native Agriculture

By Anna McNulty, & the West

January 21, 2022

A tribal bison herd moving to their summer pasture in northern Montana. Bison were reintroduced to the Blackfeet Nation starting in the 1990s. (Photo credit: Latrice Tatsey)

The Field Report: Biden Targets Consolidation in the Meat Industry (Again)

By Lisa Held

January 7, 2022

Meat Prices To Rise As Corn Supply Diverted For Ethanol Production

How the Swinomish Are Reviving a Native Oyster and Protecting Eelgrass in Puget Sound

By Sarah Sax, High Country News

January 4, 2022

Indigenous Foodways

Farm Bill Funding for Indigenous Food Producers Needs a Boost

Can Sean Sherman’s BIPOC Foodways Alliance Dismantle White Supremacy Over Dinner?

Supreme Court Case Could Reshape Indigenous Water Rights in the Southwest

Alaska’s Climate-Driven Fisheries Collapse Is Devastating Indigenous Communities

After Centuries of Exploitation, Will Indigenous Communities in Biodiversity Hotspots Finally Get Their Due?

Today’s food system is complex.

Indigenous Foodways Are the Focus in a Growing Number of Classrooms

The Farm Credit Administration’s First Indigenous Chairman Wants to Level the Playing Field

Climate-Driven Drought Is Stressing the Hopi Tribe’s Foods and Traditions

This Mother-Daughter Team Is Sharing Food Traditions from the Ho-Chunk Nation

Renata Birkenbuel Joins Civil Eats as Indigenous Foodways Reporting Fellow

Native Farmers Push for More Equitable Training and Support in the Farm Bill

As the Pacific Lamprey Declines, Native Tribes Work to Protect Sacred Eel-Like Fish

Decolonizing Regenerative Cattle Ranching

Native Tribes Are Bringing Prairie Land Back to the Pacific Northwest

Meet the Researchers ‘Decolonizing Botany’ to Save Our Food Supply

Thank you for being a loyal reader.

Meet the Group That’s Been Bringing Bison Back to Tribal Lands for 30 Years

This Pilot Program Is Supporting Tribal Food Sovereignty with Federal Dollars

A Growing Movement to Reclaim Water Rights for Indigenous People

Op-ed: Climate Change Is Bringing Agriculture to the Arctic. Let’s Prioritize Food Sovereignty.

The Revival of Indigenous Subsistence Whaling Hangs in the Balance

A Native American Food Truck Is Keeping Tribal Cultures Alive

Op-ed: Saving Heirloom Seeds Can Protect Crop Diversity

A Return to Native Agriculture

The Field Report: Biden Targets Consolidation in the Meat Industry (Again)

How the Swinomish Are Reviving a Native Oyster and Protecting Eelgrass in Puget Sound