ZUNI, NM — This fall, the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project’s food sovereignty team is combining national knowledge-sharing with local, hands-on programming to strengthen cultural traditions, nourish families, and inspire youth. From presenting at a leading Indigenous nutrition conference to hosting local meals and workshops, the team is working hard to help strengthen the Zuni community’s connection with healthy, traditional foods and culturally grounded agriculture.
In September, Food Sovereignty Coordinator Brittny Seowtewa and Food Sovereignty Leaders Khassia Hattie and Zachary James attended the 7th Annual Conference on Native American Nutrition at the Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Their participation was made possible through scholarships from the First Nations Development Institute and Newman’s Own Foundation,
During the conference, Seowtewa had the opportunity to participate in a panel titled, “Nourishing Indigenous Communities: The Intersection of Food Justice and Nutrition for Youth.” Hosted by Jackie Blackbird, Newman’s Own Foundation’s Indigenous communities officer, the panel explored the vital connection between food justice and nutrition for Indigenous youth—and the innovative ways in which communities are approaching these issues.
“My fellow panelists were from the Navajo Nation in Arizona, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe in Virginia, and Kaua’i, Hawai’i,” Seowtewa said. “We discovered we face similar barriers, we place the same priority on our youth, and we share the same sense of hope.”
The food sovereignty team also recently hosted two workshops for the Zuni community. One was a virtual workshop on pickling, which ZYEP recorded and uploaded to social media so it would always be accessible.
“Khass pickled cucumbers, chili peppers, onions and purslane, which grows abundantly here,” Seowtewa said, noting that purslane, a fleshy-leafed succulent plant, tastes a lot like artichoke hearts.
ZYEP also hosted an in-person workshop in partnership with James and Joyce Skeets, owners of Vanderwagen, New Mexico-based Spirit Farm. Fifteen community members attended the workshop, which gave them opportunities to learn about—and taste—some of the plants grown at the farm, including basil, hyssop, chili peppers, mint, nasturtiums and Stevia leaf.
“They gave such an in-depth, beautiful presentation,” Seowtewa said. “They also did a wonderful job of putting the ‘why’ into agriculture, tying it to Zuni culture and traditions. And they were able to explain complex topics like composting in a straightforward way, making them accessible to beginners.”
On Sept. 26, the team hosted a small community meal for 25 people at Ho’n A:wan Park as part of its four-month Community of Practice initiative with Partnership with Native Americans (PWNA). Invited groups included the ZYEP Agriculture Committee, Zuni Housing Authority, Ancestral Lands, and partners from Fort Defiance, Arizona, who drove to Zuni for the occasion.
Local youth helped prepare and serve a traditional meal featuring lamb stew, Three Sisters hash, blue corn muffins, wheat berry salad and pumpkin pie.
“It was an evening filled with conversations surrounding our shared interests,” Seowtewa said. “Community members shared stories, and they thanked ZYEP and our partners for committing to the work of food sovereignty and food systems.
“We would love to host more events like this,” she continued. “Food brings people together.”
Community gardening and seed-saving remain central to the team’s efforts, despite the challenges this year due to excessive summer heat, pervasive drought and a dwindling water supply. Fortunately, the garden at Ho’n A:wan Park is now thriving with the arrival of cooler fall temperatures and some rain.
The team is looking forward to robust fall and winter crops, and they are focusing on building their bank of non-GMO, heirloom seeds—including squash, watermelon, Zuni gold beans, corn and cilantro. Seowtewa noted that Khassia Hattie has been working hard on the seed-saving initiative, even gathering and saving seeds from wild plants.
“We also would like to host a free farmers market sometime before the first freeze, which usually comes in October,” Seowtewa explained. “We want to share some of our plants—tomatoes, cucumbers and peas—with the kids who are always coming by the park, and with families during our flag football season.”
Looking ahead, the team is preparing for ZYEP’s annual series of Family Cook Nights in October, November and December. In previous years, three families attended each event in person while the rest could join via Zoom; this year, however, the team is considering a change.
“We are thinking about going all-virtual this year,” Seowtewa shared. “That way, families can cook together in the comfort of their own homes.”
Each Family Cook Night features an entree, a side dish and a dessert, with recipes designed to showcase produce from ZYEP’s fall harvest. The first event, which will take place late in October, will feature a playful Halloween theme and fun menu complete with ratatouille, Frankenstein pesto pasta and spider sorbet.
The November event is tentatively scheduled for the week prior to Thanksgiving and will explore Asian-inspired cuisine, and in December, the team will provide culturally appropriate vegan meals to support families during the traditional winter fasting season. Not only will each family receive free kits and recipes for each Family Cook Night, they also will receive a cooking gift as an incentive.
With guidance from its Agricultural Advisory Committee, ZYEP’s food sovereignty initiative is dedicated to providing access to resources, instruction and knowledge sharing to people of all ages and abilities. Made possible with support from the New Mexico Department of Health, Newman’s Own Foundation, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and Partnership with Native Americans (PWNA), the initiative brings community members together on a seasonal agricultural journey that incorporates prepping, planting, nurturing, harvesting, seed saving, healthy recipes and cooking.
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The stakes couldn't be higher. Native languages are being lost at an alarming rate. Food insecurity plagues many tribal communities. But solutions are emerging, and these stories need to be told.