Food Insecurity in

Native
Reservations
By: Leora Ammerman, Brooke Peterman, Emma Shneidman, Cate Waggoner
Driving Question:

How has food insecurity in Native

American reservations affected
native culture and health?

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What is Food Insecurity?

● “a lack of consistent access to enough

food for an active, healthy life” (USDA ER)
● “A lack of available financial resources
for nutritious food at the level of the
household” (Health + hunger)
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Thesis:

Food insecurity in native american

reservations has affected native culture and
health by causing a decrease in cultural
foods, a loss of traditional culture, and
higher rates of diabetes and heart disease.
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 Decrease in Cultural
Foods:
● Lack of staple foods In native
communities
● Inability to make traditional
foods
 A Loss of Traditional
Culture:
● Hunting and gathering and
farming promoted a sense of
community
● Forced assimilation to white
culture
 A Higher Rate of
Diabetes and Heart
Disease:
● Many diets consist of government
funded packaged foods
● Don’t have access to nutritious,
fresh foods because of price,
availability, and racial barriers
 Some Shocking Statistics
● 60% of the world’s food supply originated in North America
● In some reservations, 85% of people receive food assistance from the
government
● Native americans have the highest rate of people below the poverty line
among racial groups in the U.S.
● Higher prevalence of obesity in native americans than in the general
●
united states population
100% of brooke is ugly.

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First Hand Account of Food Insecurity
“Yes, I have experienced food insecurity. It is always been a daily
thing for my whole life. MY family struggles with bills and we
rarely have extra money to buy more food. So instead, we buy food
that we know can eat for days on end. Usually a bag of potatoes
and ground meat or bologna with ham. The impact it made on my
life is I will always wonder if I have food to eat and since I have a
little sister. I will always have to make sure she eats enough. Even
if I have to give her a share of my food” -student from To’hajiilee

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Product:

What we made: How it targeted our audience:

● Flyers to hand out at a ● Spread the issue to more
local farmers market people outside of the
● Linked a website page to reservation community
raise awareness ● Made local producers aware
● Included information on of the issue
food insecurity in native
americans.
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Audience:

● Food providers (local farmers)

● People unaware of these issues
● People with easy access to healthy staple
foods

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 So
What?
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So What?
● Native culture needs to be preserved
● Food has always been a central part of native
american culture
● People need to be aware of the effects of food
insecurity
● The health of natives is not as strong as it used to
be and the risks for diabetes and heart disease are
increasing 14
What we would have done differently

● Found a way to help the To’hajiilee

● Handed out traditional food at the farmers market as
well
● Spread this information to native american
reservations as well

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Works Cited:
● Fila, Stephanie A. “Applying the Theory of Planned Behavior to healthy eating behaviors in
urban Native American youth.” The National Center for Biotechnology Information, 30 May
2006.
● Paradilla, Marla. “High Levels of Household Food Insecurity on the Navajo Nation.” Public
Health Nutrition, 1 Feb. 2013,
www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/666693A82A08
2A0ED556D947A7993EFA/S1368980012005630a.pdf/high_levels_of_household_food_
insecurity_on_the_navajo_nation.pdf.
● Park, Sunmin. “Native American Foods: History, Culture, and Influence on Modern Diets.”
NeuroImage, Academic Press, 12 Aug. 2016,
www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352618116300750.
● Salvatore, Alicia L. “Addressing food insecurity in a Native American reservation using
community-based participatory research.” The National Center for Biotechnology
Information, 11 Oct 2011, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4719163/
● “What Is Food Insecurity in America?” Hunger and Health, Feeding America,
hungerandhealth.feedingamerica.org/understand-food-insecurity/ .
● “Nutrition a Pressing Concern for American Indians.” Food Safety News, 5 Mar. 2012,
www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/nutrition-a-pressing-concern-for-american-indians
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Work Cited Continued:
● Bodirsky, et al. “Decolonizing Diet: Healing by Reclaiming Traditional Indigenous Foodways – Cuizine.”
Érudit, Association Canadienne D'Ethnologie Et De Folklore, 17 Nov. 2008,
www.erudit.org/en/journals/cuizine/2008-v1-n1-cuizine2503/019373ar/.
● Goetz, Gretchen. “Nutrition a Pressing Concern for American Indians.” Food Safety News, Marler Clark,
5 Mar. 2012, www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/03/nutrition-a-pressing-concern-for-american-indians/.
● Jernigan, et al. “Addressing Food Insecurity in a Native American Reservation Using Community-Based
Participatory Research.” OUP Academic, Oxford University Press, 11 Oct. 2011,
academic.oup.com/her/article/27/4/645/590960.
● Montgomery, Derek. “Native American Cuisine Returns to Its Roots.” National Geographic, National
Geographic, 23 Nov. 2016,
www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/11/native-american-cuisine-re
turns-to-its-roots/.
● Vernon, Rachel V. “A Native Perspective: Food Is More Than Consumption.” Journal of Agriculture, Food
Systems, and Community Development, www.foodsystemsjournal.org/index.php/fsj/article/view/377.

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