A Food Access Indicator for US Native Lands: Challenging food desert narratives to support native sovereign economies

Keywords: Food Access; Food Desert; US Native Lands; Decolonizing Data;
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Monday
Session Start / End Time: 2/28/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/28/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 5

Abstract

As a result of land loss, displacement, and the oppressive land tenure and structural hardships that have impeded on their local economies, Native American Territories in the United States often overlap with federally-recognized food deserts. This statement is problematic in more than one regard, as the identification of food-deserts follows a developmentalist commodity-based approach to food, which widely contrasts with the nuanced understanding of food in Native communities. Indeed, while local access to commodified produce can be challenging, Native peoples in the US and across the world are reinventing food ways and their narratives, and reclaiming food sovereignty while leading pathways in regenerative agriculture. Yet, in the meantime, the USDA still holds a monopoly on planning by defining a food desert metrics which disqualifies local practices. As part of the Native Lands Information System, The Food-System Transition Index is a new hybrid measure which gathers 20 indicators to measure food-systems’ health on native lands. More particularly, the Good Food Access Indicator specifically challenges the USDA Food Desert data, by incorporating other variables that still enable for a nationwide comparison. This presentation will present and discuss the specificities of the Good Food Access Indicator in the light of the broader struggle for access to healthy food and ontological existence on native lands.