Fifteenth International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic & Social Sustainability

Abstract

Keepseagle Settlement funds have provided Alaska Village Initiatives with the monies to undertake a two-year project to assist native tribes and villages with a focus on farming and food sovereignty education. The Alaska Native Agriculture Program - designed to enhance our subsistence lifestyle, while establishing modern agriculture to replace expensive and often spoiled vegetables shipped to our villages. Access to fresh produce in Alaska is limited to 38% of Alaska residents. Without accessible roads, 82% of Alaska’s native villages are vulnerable to natural disasters or events that can affect the flow of goods. The need to renew traditional cultural practices as it relates to traditional lifestyles - including food and plant gathering - is becoming apparent. Two observations from the 2018 National Climate Assessment released in November regarding traditional lifestyles and the impact of climate change are noteworthy: “Observed and future impacts from climate change threaten Native Peoples’ access to traditional foods such as fish, game, and wild and cultivated crops, which have provided sustenance as well as cultural, economic, medicinal, and community health for generations; The cumulative effects of climate change in Alaska strongly affect Native communities, which are highly vulnerable to these rapid changes but have a deep cultural history of adapting to change.” Preparing to Adapt discusses past foundational work and current planning, mini-granting, and curriculum development using the First Nations Development Institute’s Food Sovereignty Assessment Tool as a baseline tool for targeted program development based on Alaska’s six climate regions and varying needs.