Photo of: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World
Many people are helping with the Douglas County Food Policy Council’s Indigenous Food System Study and Action Plan, including (from left) Terra Trujillo, Robert Hicks Jr., Star Her Many Horses, Lee Meisel, Connie Fiorella Fitzpatrick and Christina Haswood, pictured Thursday, August 8, 2024.
To improve many aspects of the local indigenous food sector, the Douglas County Food Policy Council is conducting a year-long project that includes collecting information from various local Native American groups.
The project, the Indigenous Food System Study and Action Plan, is in the early stages of development and is being conducted by the Council in partnership with Haskell Indian Nations University. Additional partners, yet to be determined, are expected to participate in the initiative.
Connie Fiorella Fitzpatrick, a food systems specialist, said the council hopes to collect stories and data to find out the needs of Indigenous entrepreneurs such as farmers and chefs. The council also wants to include the voices of elders to convey their cultures and stories.
“We are at a crucial time when the culture and history of the elders must be passed on to the next generation. For this reason, I believe this project comes at the right time,” said Fitzpatrick.
The Douglas County Food Policy Plan, introduced in 2017, offers strategic recommendations to shape the development of the local food system. The term “food system” describes the path of food from the field to the plate and ultimately how it is disposed of in the county.
As the plan approaches the end of its ten-year term, Council members are looking for ways to close knowledge gaps and increase inclusiveness in policy-making.
“Many of the policies and goals remain,” Fitzpatrick said. “But to help advance those gap areas, I will support the Food Policy Council in providing studies such as the Indigenous Food System Study and an action plan to address those gaps.”
Robert Hicks Jr., a farmer at the Indigenous Community Center’s Nanasoohannena Farm, said what excites him most about this project is that the community is setting an example of how to talk about Indigenous food systems.
“There are so many things we can talk about and think about to improve our health, and not just Indigenous health, but public health, and how we can really use food as medicine,” Hicks said. He said many who have returned to their traditional diets have seen improvements in their health, and incorporating this knowledge is essential to an overall healthier food system.
The City of Lawrence’s equity resources page states that American Indians make up 2.28% of the population. Lawrence’s indigenous population represents at least 145 different nations, said Food Systems intern Star Her Many Horses.
Her Many Horses is an Indigenous leader and student at Haskell with roots in the Oglala Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho, Taos Pueblo, Meskwaki and Leech Lake Ojibwe peoples.
“(The study and action plan) align with my personal goals of being involved in the community and advocating for Indigenous people,” Her Many Horses said. “Growing up, I learned how important food is to people and how important it is to preserve traditional knowledge and teachings and how important that is for our health.”
Her Many Horses said she wants to reach out to tribes in Kansas to educate them about their own food systems and the ways they support their community. As the project progresses, the council hopes to expand the project nationally and hear from tribes outside the state about their understanding of different food products and processes.
“We can use this information and implement what we’ve learned into this plan and figure out how we can better support the Indigenous community here in Lawrence,” Her Many Horses said.
Fitzpatrick said this initiative has received local and national support. The council recently met with Sean Sherman, an award-winning chef, author and activist, to discuss the project. Sherman is the founder of North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, whose goal is to promote education and access to indigenous food. The organization has pledged its support for the council’s project and hopes to move the study and action plan forward, Fitzpatrick said.
“We’re really excited because I think the right partners are involved and people really want this,” Fitzpatrick said.
In addition to bridging the gap between the current food plan and the voices of indigenous people, the council also wants to address mental health and suicide prevention among farmers.
“There’s a lot of support for farmers when it comes to soil health and transitioning to sustainable agriculture, but there’s not a lot of support for farmer health,” Fitzpatrick said. “We really need to support farmers’ mental health to sustain our local food system because they’re the ones who are leading this work.”
Council hopes to find more ways to improve the Douglas County Food Policy Plan. Her Many Horses said the adoption of the Indigenous Food System Study and Action Plan will benefit our local communities.
“I think that including Indigenous voices will have a huge impact on Lawrence’s food system,” Her Many Horses said. “We continue to learn more about our own lessons and reclaim that information about sustainability and sustainable farming practices, and that will really benefit the Lawrence community.”
