Land Relations And Implications For Indigenous Health And Food Sovereignty

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Maggie Ruth Slade (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
J. Ignatova

Abstract: Differing conceptions of Land vs. land are born out of differing epistemologies and ontologies. Land is informed by Indigenous knowledges, and is grounded in relationships with humans and other nonhuman entities. Land is regarded as teacher, strength, and responsibility. Most important, Land is animate and has agency. Conceptions of land are informed by dominant Western epistemology, and are representative of solely physical territory that must be owned and transformed by labor to have value. Several Indigenous organizing ontologies contribute to the production of Land understandings and help one understand its reinforcement or reduction to land. Language is one of these, in which the animacy of Land and relationships with it or attitudes of domination over land are embedded in language itself - verb-based languages (Native languages such as Potawatomi) produce animacy and noun-based languages (English) deanimate. Space vs. place as organizing factors also contribute, with space furthering the separation between humans and land and place facilitating relationships between humans and Land. Land informs not only knowledge creation and production, but also decolonial movement. Food sovereignties are essential to Indigenous sovereignties and are grounded in Land relationships, but food apartheid and nutritional colonialism imposed onto Native populations has impacted not only physical Native health,but spiritual and cultural health.

Additional Information

Publication
Honors Project
Slade, M. (2024). Land Relations And Implications For Indigenous Health And Food Sovereignty. Unpublished Honors Thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2024
Keywords
land, food, food sovereignty, indigenous rights and health

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