Coast Salish Food Sovereignty

Item

Title
Coast Salish Food Sovereignty
Huxley Speaker Series
Description
Valerie Segrest (Muckleshoot), a native nutrition educator and coordinator of Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project, presents about Coast Salish traditional food, food systems, and movements towards food sovereignty for cultures and health across Indian Country at the Western Washington University College of the Environment (previously Huxley) Speaker Series.
Contributor
Valerie Segrest
Abstract
Roots, berries, elk, and salmon were at the center of traditional food cloture for the Coast Salish people of the Pacific Northwest. During colonization these foods were replaced with a diet of a modern and dominant culture. Today, tribal communities are faced with degenerative diseases like diabetes and heart disease as a result of this superimposition. Despite this disruption, a movement is rippling throughout Indian Country. Tribes are mobilizing by employing concepts of food sovereignty and reclaiming their food systems in order to collectively focus animating a culture of health for future generations. Valerie Segrest shares her experiences connecting her students to traditional foods and plant medicine that nurture our bodies and our revolutionary spirits.

Valerie Segrest is a native nutrition educator who specializes in local and traditional foods. As an enrolled member of the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, she serves her community as the coordinator of Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project and also works as the Traditional Foods and Medicines Program Manager. In 2010 she co-authored the book Feeding the People, Feeding the Spirit: Revitalizing Northwest Coastal Indian Food Culture. She is a Kellogg Fellow at the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy. Valerie inspires and enlightens others about the importance of a nutrient-dense diet through a simple, common-sense approach to eating.
Format
Publisher
Huxley College
WWU College of the Environment
Date
2019-03-27
Extent
Item sets
Salish Resources