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History of Corn
Indigenous Communities
Decolonized Foods from Indigenous Culture

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Why Corn is The Most Sacred Crop — Forklore

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This Chef Keeps the Flavors of Ancient Mexico Alive

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What does it mean to decolonize your diet?

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What does it mean to decolonize your diet?

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Luz Calvo: Catriona and I are both Latinx and scholars of Latinx studies, and one side of both of our families are from Sonora, Mexico. But what really motivated us to write this cookbook was my breast cancer diagnosis in 2006. It was a big moment for me because I needed to figure out what constitutes healthy eating, but also what I should be eating. I did tons of research, and my findings on cancer-related diets were mostly based on the Mediterranean diet as a model for healthy eating, which wasn't satisfying to me in terms of the food I grew up eating. So both of us started researching ancestral Mexican diets and food.

We found a 2005 San Francisco based study that showed Latinx born in the United States have twice the risk of breast cancer compared to Latinx who were born in their home country. This flipped the switch for us because we started to wonder about why one group is impacted by this more than the other, and this turned into more questions. Dietary factors were briefly mentioned in the study, but it didn't explain why.

Then, we did more research and found a phenomenon called the Latina/o Immigrant Paradox, which is that overall, Latinx immigrants arrive in the United States a lot healthier, and throughout generations, they start to lose the health benefits they had when they arrived. With that in mind, it started to feel right to eat this way, and we dove deeper into this way of eating.
How has the food system been colonized in the Americas?
When we looked at the foods of Mesoamerica, we looked at the healthiest foods that were grown by indigenous peoples for thousands of years and that continue to be grown today, such as beans, corn, squash, quelites (edible wild greens, specifically lambsquarters), and verdolagas ( purslane). Most of this diet is plant-based. When the Spaniards came, they introduced meat such as pork and beef, as well as sugar. These types of food have historically caused many health problems. So, as a political statement and analysis, we wanted to draw attention to the multi-facets of colonization toward Chicanx/Latinx people.

Of course, there's also the colonization of the Southwest, which imposed the American diet on Mexican communities. At the turn of the century, Americans have tried to convince Mexican mothers to start feeding their kids sandwiches instead of tacos, and that white bread was better than corn tortillas.

When I think about decolonizing our diet, it's not just about health because our bodies are connected to the air, the water, and the food supply. We have to be thinking about bigger issues and focus on decolonization as a framework. Moreover, we have to acknowledge that farmworkers are also being exploited in the fields so that we can eat fresh vegetables, and the water is being polluted while indigenous peoples have been denied access to their land for ceremonies and growing their food.
What are some of the common misconceptions about Mexican food that you're addressing in your cookbook?
If you look at Mexican cuisine regionally and also throughout time, there have been infinite variations on every dish. For example, we like to talk about tamales. Here in the United States, especially California, there are particular varieties of tamales that have been considered "authentic." But that's not quite true. If you go to Mexico today, you can see so many different kinds of tamales that we have never heard of. Also, if you look at this historically, tamales were sold with a wide array of fillings, many of which were plant-based, sweet, or filled with animal meat that was hunted beforehand. There's also that misconception where Mexican food is very meat- and cheese-based. It's not that common for people to eat that way in Mexico.
What are some native ingredients available here in the Bay Area that folks may not be aware of?
There's a huge lack of knowledge around these ingredients, such as tomatoes, squash, and corn. The assumption is that tomatoes originated in Italy, which isn't true because the seeds are cultivated from here. You can also find squash in farmers markets with Italian names, when in fact they're native to the Americas. I've also seen verdolaga (purslane) in farmers markets, which I think is cool to be reclaimed, as well as quelites (lambsquarters) and wild onions. Verdolaga tends to grow wild in the fields and has traditionally been a part of Mexican diets.
Thinking about Thanksgiving, a holiday rooted in America's colonial history, what are some ways we can start decolonizing what we eat?
One thing we always think about in terms of decolonization is the importance of having gratitude, offering blessings, and recognizing the labor that went into the food. Grounding ourselves in gratitude and appreciation as a daily practice can be vital toward food decolonization.

I also want to point out that we can take personal steps to decolonize how we eat, but I also think that we should take active stances of solidarity with indigenous peoples on this land. Learn about the food you're eating and the labor that made it possible for that food to come to your table. Because all of this is interconnected, we have to step up our engagement in political processes that are affecting us as humans and the planet. America has a complex colonial history, so we have to start becoming more aware of these issues in order to get there.

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What It Means to Decolonize Your Diet | KQED

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Luz Calvo: Catriona and I are both Latinx and scholars of Latinx studies, and one side of both of our families are from Sonora, Mexico. But what really motivated us to write this cookbook was my breast cancer diagnosis in 2006.

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Taino words and inventions (barbacoa, hammocks, etc)
Columbus lands in 1492
De Las Casas argues on behalf of the Indigenous population
Columbus, on behalf of Spain, colonizes the "West Indies"-- the Caribbean, starting with Hispaniola (present-day Dominican-Republic and Haiti)

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Eat, Drink, Share Puerto Rico Food • Barbacoa Taína

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His letter of advocacy. Question: Is he is a true ally? Why is calling him an advocate flawed?

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Key Theme: Indigenous Resistance/Tema clave: Resistencia indígena

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Key Theme: Indigenous Resistance/Tema clave: Resistencia indígena

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The Columbian Exchange [AP World History] Unit 4 Topic 3

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The action or process of settling among and establishing control over the indigenous people of an area.

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Native Governance Center co-hosted an Indigenous land acknowledgment event with the Lower Phalen Creek Project on Indigenous Peoples' Day 2019 (October 14). The event featured the following talented panelists: Dr. Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Dakota and Muskogee Creek), Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe), Rose Whipple (Isanti Dakota and Ho-Chunk), Rhiana Yazzie (Diné), and Cantemaza (Neil) McKay (Spirit Lake Dakota). We've created this handy guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment based on our panelists' responses.

Why is Indigenous Land Acknowledgment Important?

"It is important to understand the longstanding history that has brought you to reside on the land, and to seek to understand your place within that history. Land acknowledgements do not exist in a past tense, or historical context: colonialism is a current ongoing process, and we need to build our mindfulness of our present participation."
- Northwestern University

"When we talk about land, land is part of who we are. It's a mixture of our blood, our past, our current, and our future. We carry our ancestors in us, and they're around us. As you all do."
- Mary Lyons (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe)

Tips for Creating an Indigenous Land Acknowledgment Statement

Key components:

Start with self-reflection. Before starting work on your land acknowledgment statement, reflect on the process:

Why am I doing this land acknowledgment? (If you're hoping to inspire others to take action to support Indigenous communities, you're on the right track. If you're delivering a land acknowledgment out of guilt or because everyone else is doing it, more self-reflection is in order.)

What is my end goal? (What do you hope listeners will do after hearing the acknowledgment?)

When will I have the largest impact? (Think about your timing and audience, specifically.)

Do your homework. Put in the time necessary to research the following topics:

The Indigenous people to whom the land belongs.

The history of the land and any related treaties.

Names of living Indigenous people from these communities. If you're presenting on behalf of your work in a certain field, highlight Indigenous people who currently work in that field.
Indigenous place names and language.

Correct pronunciation for the names of the Tribes, places, and individuals that you're including.

Use appropriate language. Don't sugarcoat the past. Use terms like genocide, ethnic cleansing, stolen land, and forced removal to reflect actions taken by colonizers.

Use past, present, and future tenses. Indigenous people are still here, and they're thriving. Don't treat them as a relic of the past.

Land acknowledgments shouldn't be grim. They should function as living celebrations of Indigenous communities. Ask yourself, "How am I leaving Indigenous people in a stronger, more empowered place because of this land acknowledgment?" Focus on the positivity of who Indigenous people are today.

Additional factors to consider:

Don't ask an Indigenous person to deliver a "welcome" statement for your organization. Cantemaza McKay (Spirit Lake Nation) explains this very clearly. Check out our land acknowledgment event livestream, and hear his comments at the 27-minute mark.

Build real, authentic relationships with Indigenous people. In addition to normal employment and family obligations, Indigenous people are working to heal their traumas, learn their languages, and support their nations. If you reach out for help, lead the conversation by asking an Indigenous person what you can do for them. Chances are, they're likely overworked and could use your help.

Compensate Indigenous people for their emotional labor. If you do plan to reach out to an Indigenous person or community for help, compensate them fairly. Too often, Indigenous people are asked to perform emotional labor for free.

Understand displacement and how that plays into land acknowledgment. Land acknowledgment is complicated. Remember that the United States government displaced many Tribes from land before treaties were signed.

There are many types of land acknowledgments. Don't expect to find a specific formula or template. Land acknowledgments that come from Indigenous people vs. non-Indigenous people look different, too.

Take action:

Land acknowledgment alone is not enough. It's merely a starting point. Ask yourself: how do I plan to take action to support Indigenous communities? Some examples of ways to take action:

Support Indigenous organizations by donating your time and/or money.

Support Indigenous-led grassroots change movements and campaigns. Encourage others to do so.

Commit to returning land. Local, state, and federal governments around the world are currently returning land to Indigenous people. Individuals are returning their land, too. Research your options to return your land.

At the end of the day, remember:

Starting somewhere is better than not trying at all. We need to share in Indigenous peoples' discomfort. They've been uncomfortable for a long time. Dr. Kate Beane (Flandreau Santee Dakota and Muskogee Creek) says, "We have to try. Starting out with good intentions and a good heart is what matters most."

Visit our resources page for more helpful land acknowledgment tools! And read our own land acknowledgment statement: The Land We're On.

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A guide to Indigenous land acknowledgment

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After hosting an Indigenous land acknowledgment event, we put together this written guide to based on our panelists' responses.

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After Columbus, many other explorers set out to hunt for God, Glory and Gold on behalf of the Big 4 (Spain, Portugal, England, France).

Cortes arrives in the Aztec Empire
Pizzaro arrives in the Inca Empire

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Jamestown Colony, first permanent English settlement in North America, located near present-day Williamsburg, Virginia. Established on May 14, 1607, the colony gave England its first foothold in the European competition for the New World, which had been dominated by the Spanish since the voyages of Christopher Columbus in the late 15th century.

Origins (1606-07)

The colony was a private venture, financed and organized by the Virginia Company of London. King James I granted a charter to a group of investors for the establishment of the company on April 10, 1606. During this era, " Virginia" was the English name for the entire East Coast of North America north of Florida. The charter gave the company the right to settle anywhere from roughly present-day North Carolina to New York state. The company's plan was to reward investors by locating gold and silver deposits and by finding a river route to the Pacific Ocean for trade with the Orient.

A contingent of approximately 105 colonists departed England in late December 1606 in three ships-the Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery-under the command of Christopher Newport. They reached Chesapeake Bay on April 26, 1607. Soon afterward the captains of the three ships met to open a box containing the names of members of the colony's governing council: Newport; Bartholomew Gosnold, one of the behind-the-scenes initiators of the Virginia Company; Edward-Maria Wingfield, a major investor; John Ratcliffe; George Kendall; John Martin; and Capt. John Smith, a former mercenary who had fought in the Netherlands and Hungary. Wingfield became the colony's first president. Smith had been accused of plotting a mutiny during the ocean voyage and was not admitted to the council until weeks later, on June 10.

After a period of searching for a settlement site, the colonists moored the ships off a peninsula (now an island) in the James River on the night of May 13 and began to unload them on May 14. The site's marshy setting and humidity would prove to be unhealthful, but the site had several apparent advantages at the time the colony's leaders chose it: ships could pull up close to it in deep water for easy loading and unloading, it was unoccupied, and it was joined to the mainland only by a narrow neck of land, making it simpler to defend. The settlement, named for James I, was known variously during its existence as James Forte, James Towne, and James Cittie.

First years (1607-09)

Most Indian tribes of the region were part of the Powhatan empire, with Chief Powhatan as its head. The colonists' relations with the local tribes were mixed from the beginning. The two sides conducted business with each other, the English trading their metal tools and other goods for the Native Americans ' food supplies. At times the Indians showed generosity in providing gifts of food to the colony. On other occasions, encounters between the colonists and the tribes turned violent, and the Native Americans occasionally killed colonists who strayed alone outside the fort.

On May 21, 1607, a week after the colonists began occupying Jamestown, Newport took five colonists (including Smith) and 18 sailors with him on an expedition to explore the rivers flowing into the Chesapeake and to search for a way to the Pacific Ocean. On returning, they found that the colony had endured a surprise attack and had managed to drive the attackers away only with cannon fire from the ships. However, when Newport left for England on June 22 with the Susan Constant and the Godspeed-leaving the smaller Discovery behind for the colonists-he brought with him a positive report from the council in Jamestown to the Virginia Company. The colony's leaders wrote, and probably believed, that the colony was in good condition and on track for success.

The report proved too optimistic. The colonists had not carried out the work in the springtime needed for the long haul, such as building up the food stores and digging a freshwater well. The first mass casualties of the colony took place in August 1607, when a combination of bad water from the river, disease-bearing mosquitoes, and limited food rations created a wave of dysentery, severe fevers, and other serious health problems. Numerous colonists died, and at times as few as five able-bodied settlers were left to bury the dead. In the aftermath, three members of the council-John Smith, John Martin, and John Ratcliffe-acted to eject Edward-Maria Wingfield from his presidency on September 10. Ratcliffe took Wingfield's place. It was apparently a lawful transfer of power, authorized by the company's rules that allowed the council to remove the president for just cause.

Shortly after Newport returned in early January 1608, bringing new colonists and supplies, one of the new colonists accidentally started a fire that leveled all of the colony's living quarters. The fire further deepened the colony's dependence on the Indians for food. In accord with the Virginia Company's objectives, much of the colony's efforts in 1608 were devoted to searching for gold. Newport had brought with him two experts in gold refining (to determine whether ore samples contained genuine gold), as well as two goldsmiths. With the support of most of the colony's leadership, the colonists embarked on a lengthy effort to dig around the riverbanks of the area. Councillor John Smith objected, believing the quest for gold was a diversion from needed practical work. "There was no talke, no hope, no worke, but dig gold, refine gold, load gold," one colonist remembered.

During the colony's second summer, President Ratcliffe ordered the construction of an overelaborate capitol building. This structure came to symbolize the colony's mismanagement in the minds of some settlers. With growing discontent over his leadership, Ratcliffe left office; whether he resigned or was overthrown is unclear. John Smith took his place on September 10, 1608. To impose discipline on malingering colonists, Smith announced a new rule: "He that will not worke shall not eate (except by sicknesse he be disabled)." Even so, the colony continued to depend on trade with the Indians for much of its food supply. During Smith's administration, no settlers died of starvation, and the colony survived the winter with minimal losses. In late September 1608 a ship brought a new group of colonists that included Jamestown's first women: Mistress Forrest and her maid, Anne Burras.

In London, meanwhile, the company received a new royal charter on May 23, 1609, which gave the colony a new form of management, replacing its president and council with a governor. The company determined that Thomas Gates would hold that position for the first year of the new charter. He sailed for Virginia in June with a fleet of nine ships and hundreds of new colonists. The fleet was caught in a hurricane en route, however, and Gates's ship was wrecked off Bermuda. Other ships of the fleet did arrive in Virginia that August, and the new arrivals demanded that Smith step down. Smith resisted, and finally it was agreed that he would remain in office until the expiration of his term the following month. His presidency ended early nonetheless. While still in command, Smith was seriously injured when his gunpowder bag caught fire from mysterious causes. He sailed back to England in early September. A nobleman named George Percy, the eighth son of an earl, took his place as the colony's leader.

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Jamestown Colony | History, Foundation, Settlement, Map, & Facts

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Jamestown Colony was the first permanent English settlement in North America, located near present-day Williamsburg, Virginia. Financed and organized by the Virginia Company, the colony was originally a private venture that had been granted a royal charter by King James I. In 1624 it became a royal colony.

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How America Invented Race | The History of White People in America