scholarly journals “Indigenizing” Food Sovereignty. Revitalizing Indigenous Food Practices and Ecological Knowledges in Canada and the United States

Humanities ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Coté
2018 ◽  
Vol 53 (s1) ◽  
pp. 413-423
Author(s):  
Zuzanna Kruk-Buchowska

Abstract The aim of this paper is to analyze how Indigenous communities in the United States have been engaging in trans-Indigenous cooperation in their struggle for food sovereignty. I will look at inter-tribal conferences regarding food sovereignty and farming, and specifically at the discourse of the Indigenous Farming Conference held in Maplelag at the White Earth Reservation in northern Minnesota. I will show how it: (1) creates a space for Indigenous knowledge production and validation, using Indigenous methods (e.g., storytelling), without the need to adhere to Western scientific paradigms; (2) recovers pre-colonial maps and routes distorted by the formation of nation states; and (3) fosters novel sites for trans-indigenous cooperation and approaches to law, helping create a common front in the fight with neoliberal agribusiness and government. In my analysis, I will use Chadwick Allen’s (2014) concept of ‘trans-indigenism’ to demonstrate how decolonizing strategies are used by the Native American food sovereignty movement to achieve their goals.


2015 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 67-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yolanda Cristina Massieu Trigo ◽  
Blanca Olivia Acuña Rodarte

The production of biofuels in Mexico is a fledging project. Lack of planning, the obstacles presented by PEMEX, and the resistance of small farmers have limited their production. Even at this stage, however, some of its effects are increasingly clear: its socio-environmental violence affects the natural resources of peasants and indigenous communities. In addition, Mexico’s trade relationship with the United States, characterized by strong dependency, has affected its food sovereignty in that corn imports have become more expensive because of the increase in U.S. production of corn-derived ethanol. La producción de agrocombustibles en México es un proyecto incipiente. La falta de planeación, los obstáculos por parte de PEMEX, así como la resistencia por parte de los campesinos han limitado su producción. Sin embargo, aún en esta fase incipiente se per-ciben claramente algunos de sus efectos, los cuales consideramos como violencia socio-ambiental, ya que en principio atentan contra los recursos naturales de territorios campesinos e indígenas. Por otro lado, la relación comercial de México con Estados Unidos, caracterizada por una fuerte dependencia, ha incidido en la soberanía alimentaria del primero, ya que las importaciones de maíz se han encarecido debido al incremento de la producción de etanol a partir de este cereal en la nación vecina.


Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarita Fernandez ◽  
Justine Williams ◽  
Galia Figueroa ◽  
Garrett Graddy-Lovelace ◽  
Mario Machado ◽  
...  

Cuba’s transition to agroecology is perhaps as widely known as it is misunderstood. In response to the economic crisis of the early 1990s, the Cuban agricultural sector largely departed from the industrial model of food production that it had previously pursued. The subsequent transition towards an agroecological model has been a dynamic and uneven process, elevating Cuba on the world stage as a global leader in sustainable agriculture while at the same time producing unique challenges for Cuban farmers, policy makers, researchers and academics. This article synthesizes and updates contemporary literature on the Cuban agricultural system, paying attention to both successes and shortcomings of agroecology in Cuba to date. In particular, it situates these literatures alongside contributions from academics and practitioners alike, bringing a number of data sets, experiences, and perspectives into conversation in the context of changing realities within Cuba and the nation’s evolving geopolitical relationship with the United States. By analyzing both the historical and contemporary processes through which agroecology has taken root in Cuba, we demonstrate that, despite its uneven and incomplete implementation, such a sustainable agroecological transition holds great, untapped potential. Agroecology in Cuba currently faces pressure from normalizing Cuba-US relations, with potentially profound implications for agriculture in both countries. But increasing opportunities are also emerging for investment, collaboration, knowledge exchange, and solidarity. In this paper, we provide an overview of the evolution of the Cuban agroecology movement; analyze the state of food security and challenges to food sovereignty on the island today; outline US-Cuba policy changes occurring since December 2014 that may affect the agrifood sector; and conclude with recommendations for supporting agroecology – for food security, food sovereignty, and sustainability – under this new and evolving relationship. Please refer to Supplementary Materials, Full text Spanish version of this article, for a full text Spanish version of this article.


2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 31-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Hoover

Within the context of the broader food sovereignty literature, and with a specific focus on notions of America Indian sovereignty, this article explores how members of thirty-nine different Native American community farming and gardening projects in the United States describe and define food sovereignty, as both concept and method. This article further distinguishes how principles of food sovereignty are being operationalized in the broader goals of promoting community health, sustainability, and local economic systems, and of reclaiming and maintaining tribal culture.


Author(s):  
Sarah A. Blue ◽  
Amy Trauger ◽  
Hilda Kurtz ◽  
Jason Dittmer

2015 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian C. Campbell ◽  
James R. Veteto

Neoliberal economic frameworks threaten the ability of marginalized people worldwide to grow, harvest, and access sufficient healthy food because they deny traditional collective seed ownership and preclude subsistence as a viable livelihood. Many internationally-oriented counter-responses work to reframe intellectual property law in favor of traditional farmers. In the United States, various grassroots agricultural biodiversity conservation projects designed to re-establish the control of open-pollinated seeds within communities have emerged with similar intent. This article situates and explores the role of open-pollinated seeds and agricultural biodiversity conservation strategies in local food sovereignty. The authors direct applied research projects that collaboratively document and disseminate open-pollinated seed varieties throughout the Southeastern United States with a specific focus on the Ozark Highlands and Appalachian Mountains. The research methods represent an activist anthropology—participant observation and ethnographic interviewing while collaboratively growing and sharing seed varieties with local farmers, gardeners, seed-savers, and activists—with the explicit purpose of forging more sustainable, integrated, and sovereign local food systems.Keywords: agricultural anthropology, agrobiodiversity, grassroots strategies, in situ conservation, seed saving


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