Original Instructions: Indigenous Teachings for a Sustainable Future by Melissa K. Nelson

Author:Melissa K. Nelson [Nelson, Melissa K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Ecology/Indigenous Wisdom
ISBN: 9781591439318
Publisher: Inner Traditions/Bear & Company
Published: 2008-01-15T15:00:00+00:00

This presentation took place at the Bioneers Conference in 2006.

19

Re-Indigenizing Our Bodies and Minds through Native Foods

Melissa K. Nelson

There’s no time like today to decolonize and re-indigenize our bodies, minds, and communities by taking back our food sovereignty. Our very survival, individually and collectively, may depend on us taking back control over the quality and production of the food we put into our bodies. “We are what we eat” the old saying goes. But we are also where we eat. The plants and animals that we consume become our bodies. Our food literally becomes our flesh and our flesh gives shape to our minds and spirits. After we die, our flesh then becomes the earth, the “environment,” which grows food, and the whole cycle flows all over again. This is a primal and sacred cycle of birth, growth, death, and regeneration that most of us now take completely for granted. This “nutrient cycling” as western scientists call it, is the basis of our production, reproduction, and regeneration. It is one of the most basic things that we, as individuals, can control.

And yet the corporate control of our food systems is leading us down a dangerous path, one where known carcinogens and other toxic chemicals are sprayed on our foods. Additionally, we are faced with the unknown consequences of having genetically modified organisms (GMOs) enter our bodies and possibly mutate in our DNA. Even the water that grows our food increasingly comes from dubious sources. This “Franken-food” scenario could not be further from the philosophies and practices of native food traditions.

Native food traditions honor the sanctity of food as the Creator made them and as our ancestors nurtured them. Salmon is the perfect food for many Northwest Coastal Indian Nations; buffalo is an ideal food for the northern Plains Indian Nations; corn is integral to the food and cultures of Southwest Indian Nations; acorns and abalone are the sacred staples for California Indian Coastal Nations. This list could be endless, with other examples of diverse native foods, totem foods, that have been cared for and eaten by native nations of North America and the world.

These native food traditions honor food with prayer and story, with song and dance. Eating is an intimate act that can literally nourish us, sicken us, or even kill us. We have to take responsibility for our food systems, otherwise we will end up where we are going. Will it be Fast Food nation or Slow Food nation? Will it be comprised of corporate processed food or local, native, heirloom food? The decision is up to our minds, hands, mouths, and wallets.

The earth gives us food in seed and fruit, in vegetable and in flesh, in sweetness and nectar, in salt and sour. All of our tastes, all of our smells, all of our senses are involved in this essential and blessed act of eating food. We can’t get away from it. It makes us who we are, and yet we often neglect the fact that it’s something we do at least three or four times a day.

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