Traditional Foods Basket for Indigenous Community of Oaxaca: Ikoots Tribe
We all know that climate change is impacting Indigenous communities—especially coastal Indigenous communities with sea level rise, ocean acidification, and warming of our oceans.This coupled with the pandemic makes our coastal Indigenous communities more vulnerable. However, it also makes us more resilient. In San Mateo del Mar (a coastal Indigenous community), a collective of artisans , Manos del Mar, is leading the traditional Ikoots food basket initiative. The Ikoots people (or people of the Sea) can receive a basket of traditional foods for $25 USD.
With this community micro-grant, 15 baskets will be distributed to families of the San Mateo del Mar, Oaxaca.
This project addresses food sovereignty and security that is essential to address as a result of climate change and the current pandemic that is impacting Indigenous communities the most.
Land Restoration Work at Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center
"Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center is a land base and community center for Native Americans in the Seattle area, and United Indians’ headquarters. It is located on 20 acres (81,000 m²) in Discovery Park in Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood....Daybreak Star owes its existence to Native American activists, including United Indians’ founder, Bernie Whitebear. Together with the Indian community, they staged a non-violent takeover and occupation of the land in 1970 after most of the Fort Lawton military base was declared surplus by the U.S. Department of Defense." https://www.unitedindians.org/daybreak-star-center/
The land restoration work removed invasive species (i.e. wild-blackberry) and planted the following native plants to the healed space:
1. Western Red Cedar 2. Douglas Fir 3. Deer Fern 4. Red Dogwood 5. Salmonberry
With the Eco-Warrior Community Micro-Grant they were awarded, they purchased the native plants (listed above).
This land restoration project aims to bring attention to climate and food justice as a means of environmental justice in urban settings-focusing on land restoration and the cultural, spiritual, and social significance of land to Indigenous peoples.
Black Farmers Collective: Food Sovereignty & Security
Black Farmers Collective is a group of urban farm leaders and activists who are transforming urban farming. They are guided by the Kwanzaa principle of cooperative economics by placing Black leadership on the land. With the funds they will continue their work outlined below.
"We are a two-acre urban agriculture farm run by the Black Farmers Collective, a distributed network of cutting-edge Black farmers and growers throughout the greater Seattle area. We believe the key to a more sustainable, equitable future for communities of color requires eliminating food scarcity and undoing the commoditization of the food industry. Yes farm is an initiative created to grow the freshest, healthiest food possible by people of color for people of color. With this fund we will grow and distribute food to BIPOC communities. We are in need of supplies to fix our irrigation system and compensation for someone to distribute food.
COVID-19 and the protests against police brutality in this country is heavily impacting us at the Black Farmers Collective. We are in the streets while also trying to feed folks impacted by the job losses and lack of access to nutritious food in BIPOC neighborhoods."
"As Fires have struck the East Coast of this sacred land recently it has lead to significant destruction and loss of masses of flora and fauna and saddly the lives of peoples. Very saddly, many First Nations people's have been affected by these tragic circumstances with losses of homes/ severe damage to property and important parts of the landscape . Many of these community have now been forced to evacuate the region's of their homes and forced to seek temporary / ongoing living arrangements in other parts of Victoria and NSW ."
