Title: Gardening practices in Alaska build on traditional food system foundations
Community-based food cultivation by and for rural Alaskans has never been stronger. Rural gardeners, many Indigenous, provide their families and communities with affordable access to high-quality fruits and vegetables and other locally grown foods. Despite these emerging trends, there is sparse examination of gardening as a complementary, diversification, or adaptation strategy in wild food-centered systems and the interchange of values and worldviews among practices. Findings from interviews and surveys in Dillingham, Alaska, and interviews with community-focused gardens throughout the state, inform our research questions about the role of gardening in rural Alaska and the links between food cultivation practices and wild food traditions. In this study we find that home gardeners are essential pillars of food sovereignty and security in their communities, providing both gardened foods and high volumes and more diversity of wild foods. Gardening households increase the diversity of shared food resources in the community and serve as sinks of gardening knowledge and supplies for other community members. Traditional food practices and ethics are interwoven into gardening and have become part of annual food rounds and celebrations. Locally, cultivated foods are often described as a complement to age-old foodways that draw on histories and values connected to Indigenous agriculture and horticulture in the United States and Canada. Policies, practices, and programming of food and nutrition security and food sovereignty must consider the holistic food system and strategies that communities desire and invest in. more »« less
This essay discusses impacts of COVID-19 on food access for Indigenous individuals in Alaska, drawing on a collaborative study initiated by the Indigenous Foods Knowledges Network. Key lessons include: • The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges for Alaska Natives in accessing traditional and store-bought foods. • The strength of Indigenous cultural and economic practices such as food sharing networks helped mitigate these challenges. • Policies and programs that support access to traditional foods and Indigenous sovereignty strengthen the ability of individuals and communities to respond to significant events that break down supply chains and restrict mobility.
Contemporary efforts to strengthen Indigenous food sovereignty can take many forms, some of which may depart from traditional food gathering practices. Common camas ( Camassia quamash) is a wild-gathered geophyte that served as a staple food for Indigenous Peoples prior to colonialism. Because the abundance of camas has declined and gathering areas are difficult to access, this project sought to increase Shoshone-Bannock Tribal citizen access to camas by experimenting with ways to grow camas locally. We also held events that provided an opportunity for Tribal citizens to interact with camas. Strengthening relationships with camas in these ways not only can enhance the health of Indigenous communities because of camas’ nutritional value, but also because renewing practices and values associated with camas brings Indigenous Peoples together to redefine and assert their nationhood. Our team of authors includes Tribal- and university-affiliated professionals and students who worked collaboratively to develop this project. We evaluated how different growing conditions and seed sources influence camas cultivation. We found that soil type, stratification setting, and seed source significantly affected seed percent germination. While cold-moist stratifying seeds in a controlled setting in potting soil generally led to the highest percent germination, soil type interacted with seed source, suggesting some degree of local adaptation across gathering areas. Transplanted bulbs had high survival rates, suggesting both seeds and bulbs as viable options to increase local access to camas. This project contributes to our understanding of camas ecology while also demonstrating one approach to help strengthen traditional foodways through Tribal-university partnerships.
The Arctic is experiencing intensified impacts from climate change, resulting in unprecedented rates of change, especially for Indigenous communities. Alaska Natives are experiencing transformations in housing, food security, economic stability, and cultural practices as a result of the biophysical changes such as thawing permafrost and coastal erosion. In response, communities are prioritizing adaptation. Although Indigenous communities have been adapting for hundreds of years, adaptation strategies, or actions that seek to moderate harm through the adjustment to actual or expected climate change effects, are not well documented. Housing adaptation strategies are especially understudied, which include any adaptation strategy that is in response to or in preparation for a biophysical change affecting housing. Housing adaptation strategies in response to climate change are primarily focused on physical dimensions (e.g., retrofitting homes, constructing sea wall). Nevertheless, adaptations to changes in biophysical systems are closely interlinked to sociocultural systems, which are often neglected in adaptation discourse. Analyzing existing strategies through the lens of community values captures the sociocultural aspects of adaptation and is critical for sustainable adaptation. This paper presents a research design that addresses these gaps in adaptation discourse by asking: How are community values represented in housing adaptation strategies in response to climate change? This research will employ interviews, focus groups, and observations in partnership with two Alaska Native communities in Oscarville, Alaska and Point Lay, Alaska using community based participatory research methods (CBPR). Understanding the role of community values in housing adaptation is essential for developing sustainable adaptation plans, engineering designs, and future research studies. Further, employing CBPR methodologies in the context of adaptation, grounds identified strategies and resulting plans in community experience. As a result, future findings will not only contribute to the intellectual understanding of adaptation processes and theory, but also facilitate actions in response to climate change.
Inuit communities have sustained themselves in the Arctic for millennia through systematic knowledges about and relationships with the ecosystem of which they are a part. Because of increasing reliance on global industrial food systems there is a growing lack of access to sufficient quantities of affordable, culturally significant, and nutritious food. Arctic food insecurity stems from multiple factors, including the loss of Inuit knowledges regarding traditional food production due to negative, deficit-based stereotypes that label those foods as unsafe or disgusting. Fermented foods are among those traditional foods that have been the most criticized, even though they provide a valuable source of nutrition and health benefits. The overarching long-term goal of the planning grant project is to support the resurgence of Inuit fermented foods by generating positive, desire-based messages that recognize and value the knowledge of Indigenous fermenters, thereby improving food security in Inuit communities. The planning grant performed activities to build foundations for an Inuit-led, self-sustaining, and collaborative network in Greenland to promote Inuit fermented foods and food safety. These efforts were also intended to lead to improved scientific questions that address the future and present needs of people in the Arctic from an Indigenous perspective. Data collected for this planning grant include images, interviews, audio recordings, video recordings, and transcripts from 17 individual interviews and group discussions. These data were collected during three trips to Greenland, including two trips to South Greenland (Nanortalik, Narsarmijit, and Nunarsuaq) and one to Nuuk, spanning May 2022 to August 2024. Stakeholders included community members (elders, children, tourists, chefs, fishers, and other community members), a director of a cultural center, and a food authority supervisor. The interviews and recordings were conducted to identify key themes and to assess the desire and need for additional research and resources. The summary enclosed explains the trips, meetings and interactions, and major project findings. Key findings include how Greenlanders connect foods and land (place) together. Another finding is the expressed need for more resources and support for Greenlandic food researchers who are rooted in their communities and recognize the value of local knowledge.
Lewis, Jordan P; Kim, Steffi M; Asquith-Heinz, Zayla; Thompson, Lena
(, The Journals of Gerontology: Series B)
Kelley, Jessica
(Ed.)
Objectives: This paper outlines the unique culturally driven cyclical migration of Alaska Native (AN) Elders, distinct from previously described migration patterns in that Elders spend extended time in more than one community. We describe this Indigenous cyclical migration of AN Elders and its influence on their identity and later life health and well-being. Methods: Interviews with 124 AN Elders were conducted across 5 regions of Alaska: Bristol Bay, Interior, Norton Sound, Aleutian Pribilof Islands, and Southcentral. Within this sample, 87 participants engaged in cyclical migration. Thematic analysis was employed to identify themes related to Elders’ cyclical migration between rural and urban communities and the impact on their identity and later life health and well-being. Results: We identified 2 distinct patterns of Indigenous cyclical migration—Elders living primarily in rural communities migrating to urban communities and Elders living primarily in urban communities migrating to rural communities. Elders engaged in these 2 patterns of cyclical migration to maintain cultural practices, access social, and health care services to maintain their physical health and well-being, and continue their community roles contributing to their AN Elder identity. Discussion: This study builds upon existing migration theories by introducing a cyclical pattern uniquely driven by AN identity, culture, and traditional practices. Findings illustrate how AN communities can support Elders who experience cyclical migration patterns to ensure they age successfully in both locations. Future research should explore cyclical migration patterns among other Indigenous populations with migration histories.
Mucioki, Megan, Kelly, Sean, Holen, Davin, Powell, Bronwen, Galbreath, Tikaan, Paterno, Sarah, Mixon, Robbi, and Chi, Guangqing. Gardening practices in Alaska build on traditional food system foundations. Retrieved from https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10559909. Agriculture and Human Values . Web. doi:10.1007/s10460-024-10652-6.
Mucioki, Megan, Kelly, Sean, Holen, Davin, Powell, Bronwen, Galbreath, Tikaan, Paterno, Sarah, Mixon, Robbi, and Chi, Guangqing.
"Gardening practices in Alaska build on traditional food system foundations". Agriculture and Human Values (). Country unknown/Code not available: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-024-10652-6.https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10559909.
@article{osti_10559909,
place = {Country unknown/Code not available},
title = {Gardening practices in Alaska build on traditional food system foundations},
url = {https://par.nsf.gov/biblio/10559909},
DOI = {10.1007/s10460-024-10652-6},
abstractNote = {Community-based food cultivation by and for rural Alaskans has never been stronger. Rural gardeners, many Indigenous, provide their families and communities with affordable access to high-quality fruits and vegetables and other locally grown foods. Despite these emerging trends, there is sparse examination of gardening as a complementary, diversification, or adaptation strategy in wild food-centered systems and the interchange of values and worldviews among practices. Findings from interviews and surveys in Dillingham, Alaska, and interviews with community-focused gardens throughout the state, inform our research questions about the role of gardening in rural Alaska and the links between food cultivation practices and wild food traditions. In this study we find that home gardeners are essential pillars of food sovereignty and security in their communities, providing both gardened foods and high volumes and more diversity of wild foods. Gardening households increase the diversity of shared food resources in the community and serve as sinks of gardening knowledge and supplies for other community members. Traditional food practices and ethics are interwoven into gardening and have become part of annual food rounds and celebrations. Locally, cultivated foods are often described as a complement to age-old foodways that draw on histories and values connected to Indigenous agriculture and horticulture in the United States and Canada. Policies, practices, and programming of food and nutrition security and food sovereignty must consider the holistic food system and strategies that communities desire and invest in.},
journal = {Agriculture and Human Values},
publisher = {Springer},
author = {Mucioki, Megan and Kelly, Sean and Holen, Davin and Powell, Bronwen and Galbreath, Tikaan and Paterno, Sarah and Mixon, Robbi and Chi, Guangqing},
}
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