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A NEW DAY FOR OLD WAYS

First Foods is an educational series that features Indigenous culture bearers who hold the oldest knowledge on the continent. Our collective mission is to reconnect Indigenous communities & urban/rural Natives to land & food culture through free classes, food heritage events, community discussions, presentations, and cooking & gardening demonstrations. We preserve and share Indigenous knowledge making what is often unavailable to urban Native people accessible as we work to establish Indigenous food Sovereignty.

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 We define Indigenous Food Sovereignty as the right to govern our own food systems from Extraction to Distribution using Ancestral and Contemporary Knowledge. Our work helps facilitate this process by providing an Indigenized community-led food culture education that breaks the barriers to access that are experienced by Urban & Rural Natives. Our classes will provide access to the tools to cultivate and prepare Indigenous foods and establish new community partnerships that increase food culture acquisition.

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We also strive to provide much needed teaching opportunities to a population of people who are the stewards of preserving biodiversity, promoting alternative food preparation, and highlighting ways to build health outside industrial food systems.

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First
foods
Program

CLASS IS IN SESSION

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Season Two Classes

Rights of Nations: Fishing, Hunting, Foraging & Storytelling with Isaac Murdoch (Ojibwe)
01:16:38

Rights of Nations: Fishing, Hunting, Foraging & Storytelling with Isaac Murdoch (Ojibwe)

Isaac Murdoch, whose Ojibway name is Manzinapkinegego’anaabe / Bombgiizhik is from the fish clan and is from Serpent River First Nation. Isaac grew up in the traditional setting of hunting, fishing and trapping. Many of these years were spent learning from Elders in the northern regions of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Isaac is well respected as a storyteller and traditional knowledge holder. For many years he has led various workshops and cultural camps that focuses on the transfer of knowledge to youth. Other areas of expertise include: traditional ojibway paint, imagery/symbolism, harvesting, medicine walks, & ceremonial knowledge, cultural camps, Anishinaabeg oral history, birch bark canoe making, birch bark scrolls, Youth & Elders workshops, etc. He has committed his life to the preservation of Anishinaabe cultural practices and has spent years learning directly from Elders. If you loved our classes in 2020, please consider rejoining us and sharing this with your friends. REGISTER: bit.ly/FirstFoods2021 First Foods Program is produced by Grinding Stone Collective and made possible through partnership with Green Feather Foundation, Her Many Voices Foundation, and support from community members like you!
Everyday Food Sovereignty: Feeding Nations & Feeding Each Other with Brit Reed (Choctaw)
01:44:27

Everyday Food Sovereignty: Feeding Nations & Feeding Each Other with Brit Reed (Choctaw)

Britt Reed, a Choctaw descendent, is a cook, teacher, artist, and activist for the food sovereignty movement, preparing and preserving Indigenous foodways. She is the founder of the Food Sovereignty is Tribal Sovereignty Facebook group. She is also an I-Collective member, an organization made up of seed keepers, knowledge keepers, chefs, and cooks since 2017and a food service provider for the Tulalip Tribes. If you loved our classes in 2020, please consider rejoining us and sharing this with your friends. REGISTER: bit.ly/FirstFoods2021 First Foods Program is produced by Grinding Stone Collective and made possible through partnership with Green Feather Foundation, Her Many Voices Foundation, and support from community members like you!
Transitional Foods for Spirit & Family with Emily Vass (Lenape/Choctaw)
01:29:30

Transitional Foods for Spirit & Family with Emily Vass (Lenape/Choctaw)

Emily Vass (Lenape/Choctaw) is a Deathworker who helps families with grief and death support. She is an author, speaker and community leader. She is a mother of 2 neurodiverse teenagers. A wife to a career active duty service member. She has spent much of her 18 years of marriage as an acting single parent as her husband has been forward deployable their entire marriage. Emily’s work focuses on respite care, education and advocacy for the dying and their future grievers. Emily hosts events, workshops and retreats all over the country for grievers, deathworkers and funeral professionals, To find out more about her work consider checking out her website. If you loved our classes in 2020, please consider rejoining us and sharing this with your friends. REGISTER: bit.ly/FirstFoods2021 First Foods Program is produced by Grinding Stone Collective and made possible through partnership with Green Feather Foundation, Her Many Voices Foundation, and support from community members like you!
Matriarch: Mothering Maiz Birthing Seeds with Sewa Yuli
01:23:36

Matriarch: Mothering Maiz Birthing Seeds with Sewa Yuli

Sewa Yuli (they/them) is a queer, full spectrum birthkeeper, bodyworker, community cook and parent. Rooted in Mexican curanderismo, Traditional Mexican postpartum care, and Food Justice advocacy, Sewa is the founder of Mi Xantico (pronounced chan-tico). In addition to the aforementioned services, they provide 1:1 meal prep services, postpartum nutritional support, catering, cooking classes and more. Centered around Ancestral Foods, Sewa utilizes culinary medicine to promote healing, connection to tradition and health autonomy in all their practices. If you loved our classes in 2020, please consider rejoining us and sharing this with your friends. REGISTER: bit.ly/FirstFoods2021 First Foods Program is produced by Grinding Stone Collective and made possible through partnership with Green Feather Foundation, Her Many Voices Foundation, and support from community members like you!
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