Traditional Foods Summit, March 29-30, 2011, at SfAA meeting, Seattle, WA

Dear Colleagues:

Many of you will be interested in the Traditional Foods Summit (described below) being planned in conjunction with the Society for Applied Anthropology meeting in Seattle, WA in late March 2011. The Traditional Food Summit will be held over two days beginning Tuesday 3/29 (the day before the official start of the SfAA annual meetings) and will continue with panel sessions on March 30th. If you are interested in participating in the summit or submitting a panel session on a topic related to Traditional Foodways, please register and submit your abstract by the October 15th deadline:http://www.sfaa.net/sfaa2011.html.

Traditional Foods Summit (March 29-30, 2011) at the SfAA Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA

The Traditional Foods Summit is rooted in the view that cultural and natural resources are indivisible. Access to, management and preservation of resources in aboriginal use areas are essential to the perpetuation of traditional foodways. Traditional foods are integral to the continued health, well-being and healing of Native communities. Several Tribes throughout the Columbia Plateau and Coast Salish regions and beyond are working with the SfAA to hold a two-day summit on the importance of traditional foods. Key goals of the Summit are to highlight innovative approaches to natural and cultural resource management through a traditional foods framework, foster dialogue, share experiences, build collaborative networks, and develop policy recommendations so that Tribes, natural and cultural resource managing agencies, and applied social scientists can better understand and manage for the needs and rights of tribal and aboriginal communities.

Highlights of the Summit

  • Summit participants can work collaboratively to share concepts and initiatives related to traditional foods, language, health, education, cultural & natural resources, and policy & legal reforms
  • Presentation by the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation featuring their implementation of the First Foods Concept to guide natural and cultural resource management strategies on and off the reservation
  • The Northwest Indian College will share their traditional foods programs that educate people about native foods and medicines, build community food sustainability, and address pressing health issues in the Coast Salish Native communities that they serve
  • Documentary film, interactive and multi-media learning, and story sessions highlighting the traditional food efforts of native communities throughout the Pacific and beyond
  • Northwest Indian College will provide CEUs and certificates

 Contact Darby Stapp dstapp@pocketinet.com if you are interested in participating.