Indigenous Food Systems
Learning from our elders.
Saokio Heritage conducted an award-winning assessment of traditional ecological knowledge and contemporary food systems on the Blackfeet Reservation in Northern Montana with funding from the First Nations Development Institute. We published three documents.
Ahwahsiin (The Land/Where We Get Our Food): Traditional Foods and Contemporary Food Sovereignty on the Blackfeet Reservation — Oral History Project (68 pages).
Winner of the “Local Impact” Award from the National Indian Health Board.
Blackfeet Plants 101: An Intro to Using Plants & Decolonizing Your Life — Pamphlet (2 pages)
How to take action.
Sokapsksino (to know completely): Advocacy Guide for Food Sovereignty and Food Security on the Blackfeet Reservation — Advocacy Guide (44 pages)
Articles and a lexicon on traditional food systems written by Indigenous women, part of our Saokio Heritage team.
Lexicon
Blackfeet Names of Plants Used by the Blackfeet, compiled by Saokio Heritage. This list includes over 100 names of plants used by the Blackfeet with their translation into English and scientific names. It can be used with a knowledgeable person or a good field guide to learn more about ethnobotanical or Indigenous plant knowledge.
Articles
"Ma’s, Montana’s Original Plant-Based Food," Montana Naturalist, Fall/Winter 2020.
“How One Tribe Is Fighting for Their Food Culture in the Face of Climate Change,” February 27, 2019, TalkPoverty
"How Native American Food is Tied to Important Sacred Stories," The Conversation, June 15, 2018.
"Indigenous communities have already been harmed by 'America's Harvest Box,'" February 27, 2018, Bitch Media