botanyshitposts:

plantyhamchuk:

“Many of the traditional foods, plants, and teas are still available on the reservation, and some are even sold in health food stores, Beck says, so younger tribal members can learn to integrate them into their daily lives. For example, traditional medicine like willow bark or blue root can replace Tylenol, and bison or venison can replace fatty beef. Local berries can either become a traditional berry soup or be mixed into other recipes like pancakes, muffins, and smoothies.“

Some Westernized foods and medicines are not best for tribal people,” says Carolyn Angus-Hornbuckle, director of public health policy and programs at the National Indian Health Board. “These health disparities are happening throughout Indian Country, and we could see positive health impacts if Blackfeet chose to share Beck’s report and their knowledge with other communities.”

Most scholarly research reports are concealed behind paywalls and easily accessible by only those in academia, but Beck removed that barrier for the Blackfeet people by making her report available for free.“

Blackfeet Reservation Community Food Security & Food Sovereignty Assessment (by Marissa McElrone); the survey that prompted action. This report provided evidence that although younger members were willing to use traditional medicine, they were largely inhibited by lack of knowledge that was being lost over generations.

You can read the 68-page study/report booklet prepared by the 23-year-old (!!!!) American History researcher and Blackfoot Nation member Abaki Beck to help preserve Blackfoot culture (what this article is referring to) here!! It’s a beautiful report that assesses the state of food on Blackfoot reservations, Native and traditional sources of natural food, traditional recipes, the history of food struggle on the reservations, sustainable living within the community, health within the community, more info on the plants (and animals) themselves, and more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Blackfeet Researcher Leads Her Tribe Back to Traditional Foods