This is the fourth in a bi-weekly series that for my Native American Assimilation and Activism class. Every two weeks we make posts sharing what we learned in the class.
Over the last two weeks we have covered Indigenous Foods and Indigenous ecological activism.
Indigenous Foods
Most people hopefully are aware of the essential nutrients needed for survival: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, and water. Indigenous peoples find these nutrients in:
- Protein
- elk, deer, turkey, lamprey (eels), seal, whale, insects, salmon and other oily fish
- Carbs
- camas, potatoes, corn, peas, beans, berries, fruits
- Fats
- tallow, oily fish, blubber from seal and whale
This diet naturally, is quite ehm natural, and quite healthy by having mainly complex carbs. Obesity was essentially a non-issue pre-contact because they ate a very healthy diet combined with lots of exercise (hunting etc).
Two things that I found interesting from the food lectures were: 1. The Inuit diet 2. Insect eating
1. The Inuit Diet
The Inuit diet was extremely uncommon among indigenous peoples consisting almost solely on animal products. This was because almost all Inuit peoples have genetic mutations that allow their metabolisms to digest fat better as well as lower LDL cholesterol levels.
2. Insects!
As uncommon it might sound to a western audience, eating insects was incredibly common in Indigenous communities west of the Mississippi River. In the great basin indigenous peoples ate insects that washed up in lakes and were already salted and dried.
Indigenous Ecological Activism
Many of us likely already know some of these stats but they are worth re-iterating: 2024 was the warmest year on record since 1850, sea surface temperatures reached record highs, and over 10 million hectares of forest are lost annually. We’re currently in what can be considered the world’s sixth mass extinction event, largely driven by human activities. Indigenous peoples control about 25% of the world’s land, making them crucial allies in addressing climate change.
We discussed two significant case studies: the Navajo Nation’s struggle with 500 abandoned uranium mines causing severe health issues, and the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) controversy that threatened Standing Rock Sioux water supplies and sacred sites. The DAPL case highlighted how projects rejected by predominantly white communities (Bismarck) were rerouted through Indigenous lands, violating the Treaty of Fort Laramie and resulting in violent confrontations with protesters.
The other one we talked about was a more positive example, the Klamath Dam Removal Project, the largest dam removal initiative in history. This tribally-led effort by the Yurok, Karuk, Hoopa, Modoc and Shasta Tribes aims to restore the Klamath River and its salmon and steelhead populations. The project demonstrates how Indigenous leadership can drive significant environmental restoration efforts.