224 Community Food Security
Changing diets affect Native Americans’ health
Only a few generations ago, Native Americans had a healthy diet of foods they
hunted, grew, and collected in the wild. When meat, vegetables, and fruit were
scarce, they were still able to collect “survival foods” of roots, seeds, tree bark,
and small animals.
About 100 years ago, the US government forced Native people to live on
reservations and did not allow them to hunt or fish. Rather than providing
them with foods they were used to, the government provided mostly white
flour, white sugar, and lard (processed animal fat). Today, many Native
Americans still eat these government foods. On many reservations, the only
food available is fried junk food. Even the people who do not receive food from
the government often eat poorly because they have few other choices.
Because they have been forced to eat a lot of foods that are low in
nutrition, and because they do not have the foods their bodies need, many
Native Americans are overweight and suffer from heart disease and other
health problems related to poor diet. Diabetes is now one of the leading
causes of death among Native Americans.
This problem has led some Native Americans to begin recovering their
culture and good health by bringing back traditional foods. They are planting
maize, beans and squash, gathering wild rice, fishing, and raising buffalo for
meat. Richard Iron Cloud, a Native American health worker from the Lakota
Nation, says, “Change in cultural traditions, lifestyles, and eating habits
caused diabetes to increase. The return to our ancestors’ ways of eating can
make disease go away again.”
Farming traditions, like growing different crops together,
can ensure good health and protect the land for future generations.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012