Why Two California Indian Tribes are Growing their Own Food, and Why It Isn t Easy
22/11/2016
Big Pine Paiute-Shoshone tribe member Joseph Miller shows me around his town's garden. There are two hoop houses with herbs and fresh heads of lettuce just popping out of the ground. Tomatoes are in abundance, with so many hybrid varieties that it's hard to keep track.
What we're working towards is being able to not only create a sustainable food source, but to create food security, Miller says. We want to give our people the right to know without being in the dark and wary about where their food is coming from, or how long it's been on a truck.
--
--
Miller is the community garden specialist of the Big Pine Reservation's Sustainable Foods Program. Launched in 2012, the farming project spans roughly six acres. There are grand stalks of glass corn outside, but most of the food right now is confined to the hoop houses. Winter is coming and the plants are bracing for the cold.
Seventeen miles north, the Bishop Paiute Tribe has a similar program. Dubbed the Food Sovereignty Program, it features two lots that total half an acre and an acre respectively. At the half-acre lot, the harvesting season has just come to a close. There are beans, basil, tomatoes, swiss chard, and eggplants. Long pink stalks of amaranth have just been picked - the seeds can be used to make flour or popped, like popcorn.
We made granola bars with popped amaranth and honey, says Jen Schlaich, food program specialist at Bishop.
Jen Schlaich in the amaranth patch. Photo: Clarissa Wei
In the herb garden, there's oregano, rosemary, catmint, thyme, and calendula - the latter of which is made into an infused oil for the skin. Dyer's chamomile grows in abundance; the flowers can be used as a natural dye. There's also green ephedra - a native plant the Paiute use for its stimulant properties.
A couple blocks down at the half-acre lot, the Food Sovereignty Program has put in a bee hive for honey and an aquaponics system for raising tilapia. Chili peppers are in abundance there and the lettuce is just growing out. A couple of turkeys and chickens run around in a cage; the turkey will be killed in time for Thanksgiving. The Bishop program hosts frequent workshops for kids and there's an impressive seed library that they are developing for the community. Produce is sold at their weekly farmers' market or given to the tribal elders.
But this rosy, lush cornucopia of food is not representative of what most people in the reservations are eating.
Greens in the Hoop House at the Big Pine Paiute Reservation | Photo: Clarissa Wei
Most of the tribe's food does not come from these gardens, though that is the eventual goal. Rather, produce is trucked in from over three to four hours away. Located 200 miles north of Los Angeles, both the Big Pine and Bishop reservations lie in the Owens Valley - an area considered by many a food desert. There is only one highway, the 395, and the road can be compromised in an event of a major storm. Additionally, the economics of transporting produce drives up the cost of food in the local restaurants.
The tribal community and the community at large really rely on corporate suppliers to the provide the majority of food in this region, Schlaich says. This results in low quality food and decreased access to healthy and culturally appropriate foods.
The area didn't used to be such a desolate food desert; at least, not from the Native American perspective. Owens Valley was, once upon a time, an Eden of sorts. Run-off from the snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains, coupled with extensive irrigation systems created by the Paiute made parts of it slightly swampy.
The Native American tribes that had lived there had been using irrigation canals to enhance their food supply for thousands of years.
The whole valley was our garden, says Harry Williams, a Bishop Paiute environmental activist.
The Owens Valley and the Sierra Nevada | Photo: Clarissa Wei
The Paiutes especially enjoyed taboose (Cyperus esculentus) - which was cultivated for its wild tubers, and nahavita (Dichelostemma capitatum), which was gathered for its edible corm.
In the 1860s American settlers appropriated the land from the Paiute at gunpoint, and used the Paiute's ditches to start growing western crops.
More from Tending the Wild
Indigenous Cooking: Nopales Tepary Bean Salad
Indigenous Cooking: Chia Power Bars
Indigenous Cooking: Stinging Nettle Tea Medley
1 of 2
next
Thirty years later the valley, with its lush river beds, drew the attention of Los Angeles city engineer Frederick Eaton and superintendent of the Los Angeles Water Company, William Mulholland. They saw the area as a new source of water for the burgeoning city of Los Angeles. By 1913, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) - the publicly owned successor to the private Los Angeles Water Company - had completed a 233-mile-long aqueduct to move water from the Owens Valley to L.A. By the 1920s, so much water was diverted from the Owens Valley to Los Angeles that agriculture became next to impossible. By 1933, Los Angeles had a monopoly on the valley's water supply.
The water diversions to Los Angeles sparked the fiery Owens Valley Water War which subsided, but which to this day hasn't been resolved.
As partial compensation for the 19th Century appropriation of Native lands, LADWP agreed in 1939 to convey land for three small reservations for the Owens Valley as an incentive to get the Paiute off land the Department desired for their water rights. The agreement stipulated that the reservations would receive a guaranteed annual allotment of 5,565 acre-feet of water for irrigation purposes. Today, tribal members in the Owens Valley argue that they are not getting their fair share. The California drought, th
LINK: | https://www.kcet.org/shows/tending-the-wild/why-two-california-indian-... |
See more stories from kcet |
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
17/05/2024
TV, Streaming Schedule for 2024 NFL Regular Season Is Released
NEW YORK As declines in linear TV viewing make the ongoing popularity of live sports, particularly football, central to financial success of the TV industry, th...
17/05/2024
Netflix Ad Tier Hits 40M Monthly Active Users
During Netflixs second Upfront presentation to advertisers, Amy Reinhard, Netflix's president of advertising, walked advertisers through the continued growt...
17/05/2024
Scripps Promotes Jeff Kiernan to VP, Local News
CINCINNATI The E.W. Scripps Company has added to its leadership team for news by promoting Jeff Kiernan a veteran journalist and general manager of Scripps'...
17/05/2024
Survey: New Disney-Fox-WBD Sports Streamer May Hurt Pay TV Sub Counts
Top executives from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery have consistently insisted that their joint venture to launch the Venu Sports streaming bundle in the...
17/05/2024
Caitlin Clark's WNBA Debut Set Viewing Records
ESPN has announced that its coverage of Caitlin Clark's WNBA debut in the Indiana Fever versus the Connecticut Sun season opener was the most-watched WNBA g...
17/05/2024
ATEM Mini Extreme ISO switcher and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K
ATEM Mini Extreme ISO switcher and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K Brie Clayton May 16, 2024 0 Comments Blackmagic Design announced today that Yoic...
17/05/2024
Pixomondo's Virtual Production Academy Expands with Programs at Sony PCL, Vook, and Vancouver Film School
Pixomondo's Virtual Production Academy Expands with Programs at Sony PCL, Vo...
17/05/2024
WBD Upfront Show Offers Peeks at House of the Dragon,' White Lotus,' Biden-Trump Debate
The Warner Bros. Discovery upfront presentation took place Wednesday, May 15 at ...
17/05/2024
The Black Keys, Jelly Roll, Kate Hudson Set To Perform on The Voice' Finale
Season 25 of The Voice wraps on NBC Tuesday, May 21, with performances from The Black Keys, Jelly Roll, Kate Hudson, Lainey Wilson, Muni Long, Thomas Rhett and ...
17/05/2024
CNN Boss Mark Thompson's Plan Includes More News in More Categories on More Devices (Upfronts)
New CNN CEO Mark Thompson spelled out his plan for the struggling news network d...
17/05/2024
Netflix To Launch In-House Advertising Tech Platform
Netflix, a newcomer to the advertising business, said it plans to launch an in-house advertising technology platform....
17/05/2024
Netflix Plots TV Takeover at Upfront Presentation
Netflix shared some programming projects at an upfront presentation in New York. Those include the basketball-themed comedy series Running Point, a Mindy Kaling...
17/05/2024
Plex Geek Week Sale Offers 20% Off Plex Lifetime Pass
Plex is offering movie and music collectors a 20% discount off its Lifetime Plex Pass as part of its Geek Week sale....
17/05/2024
GroupM Names Toby Jenner as President, GroupM Clients
Giant media buyer GroupM said it named Toby Jenner as global president, Group M Clients, a new position at the company....
17/05/2024
Clients of Independent Agencies Boost Programmatic Buying
Smaller advertisers are increasingly buying connected TV programmatically, according to a new report from FreeWheel, Comcast's ad-tech unit....
17/05/2024
TCLtvPlus Adds Streaming Music Channels From Vevo
TCLtvPlus, the streaming app on smart TVs made by TCL, has added live linear channel from music-video programmer Vevo....
17/05/2024
StackAdapt Adopts Data From Samba TV for Programmatic Campaigns
StackAdapt said it made a deal to integrate data from Samba TV into its programmatic advertising platform....
17/05/2024
May 16, 2024
Scripps Research chemist Donna Blackmond elected to the Royal Society of the U.K. Blackmond's wide-ranging work has shaped origin of life theories, our unde...
16/05/2024
Power Provokes Vital Questions About the Role of Police
PARK CITY, UTAH - JANUARY 18: Director Yance Ford introduces the Power premiere at Library Center Theatre. (Photo by Chad Salvador/Shutterstock for Sundance F...
16/05/2024
Mental Health Matters: Embrace Self-Care With These Audiobook and Podcast Listens
May is Mental Health Awareness month, a time to recognize those living with ment...
16/05/2024
ABC and SBS bring digital radio (DAB+) services to the Gold Coast
ABC and SBS bring digital radio (DAB ) services to the Gold Coast 15 May, 2024 Media releases ABC and SBS today announced that audiences on the Gold Coast ...
16/05/2024
Clear-Com Communication Solutions Enhance Oregon State University's PRAx Building
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
16/05/2024
6 New Clearmountain's Domain Presets
Share this article width=32 height=32 data-lazy-src=https://apogeedigital.com/app/themes/juniper-theme/src/img/icons/facebook-purple.svg /> width=32 height=...
16/05/2024
Updated: Netflix to Stream Live Christmas Day NFL Games
In a major example of how large streaming services are successfully battling for lucrative sports rights, Netflix has announced that it has secured global right...
16/05/2024
ESPN, Fox, WBD Unveil Name for New Sports Streaming Service
LOS ANGELES & NEW YORK More than three months after announcing plans to launch a major new sports streaming service, ESPN, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery,...
16/05/2024
CTV/Streaming Top of Mind for Marketers in 2024
In a survey conducted late last year, marketing companies said their main focus for increasing advertising would be CTV/streaming. Generative AI, which was not ...
16/05/2024
CPB Issues More Grants for Next-Generation Warning
Three public radio and one public television outlet are the latest recipients of funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to upgrade their emergency...
16/05/2024
A year in live HDR production
John Mailhot, senior vice president, product management at Imagine Communications, gives an insight into how HDR is impacting live production today, as well as ...
16/05/2024
Sony Pictures Post Production Services Completes Expansion of its Sound Facilities
Sony Pictures Post Production Services Completes Expansion of its Sound Faciliti...
16/05/2024
Telestream Taps Power of AI to Manage, Define Media Workflows
TV Tech recently sat down with Telestream CEO Rhonda Bassett-Spiers and CTO Simon Clark to discuss how the M&E industry is adapting the cloud, IP and AI to enha...
16/05/2024
1185 Films launches one stop shop' for industry talent
1185 Talent will include directors, editors, colourists, VFX artists and photographers By Jenny Priestley Published: May 16, 2024 1185 Talent will include...
16/05/2024
Updated: Presteigne Broadcast Hire enters administration
The administrators said they are focused on trading the business as a going concern while they assess options, including exploring the possibility of a sale By...
16/05/2024
AWS CEO Adam Selipsky steps down
Selipsky will leave the company on 3rd June, and will be succeeded by Matt Garman, a senior vice president who has overseen sales and marketing at AWS By Jenny...
16/05/2024
Sony Pictures Post Production Services Completes Sound Facilities Expansion
Sony Pictures Post Production Services has announced that the final phase of a multi-year effort to expand and modernize its motion picture and television sound...
16/05/2024
CNN, ABC to Televise Two Presidential Debates
President Joe Biden and Former President Donald Trump have agreed to participate in two televised debates, the first of which will be hosted by CNN on June 17....
16/05/2024
Disney+ Debuts First Concert Film to Stream with IMAX Enhanced Sound
BURBANK, Calif. and NEW YORK Disney+, IMAX Corporation, and DTS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Xperi, have announced that Queen Rock Montreal is now streaming ...
16/05/2024
WBD Unveils Advanced Advertising Features for Max
NEW YORK During its upfronts presentation, Warner Bros. Discovery announced a suite of new advanced ad products available on Max, that include shoppable ads, ad...
16/05/2024
iZotope announces RX 11 audio software, introducing new machine learning for tackling noise, and new tools for music streaming
iZotope announces RX 11 audio software, introducing new machine learning for tac...
16/05/2024
Check Out the Cine Gear Expo June 7 9, 2024 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, CA
Check Out the Cine Gear Expo June 7 9, 2024 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank...
16/05/2024
Nouvel Photo & Film Captures Cinematic Wedding Films with Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K
Nouvel Photo & Film Captures Cinematic Wedding Films with Blackmagic Cinema Came...
16/05/2024
Replacing Surfaces Like a Pro with Mocha AE Planar Tracking
Replacing Surfaces Like a Pro with Mocha AE Planar Tracking Levi Borland May 15, 2024 0 Comments Welcome to our comprehensive tutorial on planar track...
16/05/2024
CBC's CPL Teams Salamanders, Yard Gnomes One Week Away From Season Opener
The world of baseball at Capitol Broadcasting is about to expand like fireworks on a Friday night. The Holly Springs Salamanders will open their season at home...
16/05/2024
Blockgraph Adopted by tvbeat, Enabling Audience-Based Planning
Blockgraph said that its identity and data collaboration platform has been adopted by tvbeat, a provider of campaign planning technology for media companies....
16/05/2024
Tonight on Scandal: A terrifying story pushes Dintle into making a life-altering decision
Tonight on Scandal: A terrifying story pushes Dintle into making a life-altering...
16/05/2024
VEON 1Q24 Trading Update: Accelerating USD Growth, Strong Operational Execution
16 May 2024 VEON 1Q24 Trading Update: Accelerating USD Growth, Strong Operational Execution Amsterdam, 16 May 2024 07:00AM CEST - VEON Q1 2024 Highlights Q1...
16/05/2024
Tribeca X Announces 2024 Speaker Lineup for Expanded Two-Day Event; Official Selections for Tribeca X Award
May 16th, 2024 Press Materials Available Here TRIBECA X ANNOUNCES 2024 SPEAKER...
16/05/2024
SVG Sit-Down: Beam Dynamics CEO Kaszycki on Maximizing Physical-Asset Usage, Tracking
SVG Sit-Down: Beam Dynamics CEO Kaszycki on Maximizing Physical-Asset Usage, Tra...
16/05/2024
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Aggreko's Don Gray on Advocating for Sustainability in Live Sports Production
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Aggreko's Don Gray on Advocating for Sustainabili...