“Take care of your families, take care of one another”: Indigenist families and foodways

Abstract

AbstractObjectiveThe purpose of this research was to examine how families and foodways have evolved over time and how they may present promising promotive factors for resilience, health, and wellness.BackgroundBecause food is central to family, social relationships, and healthy living, Indigenist foodways may promote family resilience and offset inequities.MethodPragmatic horizon analysis of data drawn from 31 critical ethnographic interviews on food and family in the Southeast and Northwest, including both urban and rural reservation tribal contexts, resulted in emergent themes related to food and families.ResultsThemes included (a) foodways fostering family connectedness: “The fresh vegetable is how I remember my grandpa”; (b) tight‐knit extended families and communities: “The community where I grew up … everybody knew each other, so everybody … pitched in”; (c) family and community celebrations nurturing cohesion: “The family I have, I can always count on. I can trust each one of them”; and (d) families fostering healing: “Sit down and talk to somebody … that you can trust.”ConclusionParticipants explained how foodways promoted family resilience by bringing families and communities together. Indigenist foodways fostered continuity and healing through food preparation and processing and through feasts and gatherings.ImplicationsFoodways were described as fundamental to family resilience and community connectedness. Subsistence fostered exercise, eating locally sourced foods, and family resilience. Interventions are needed to promote Indigenist foodway sovereignty while first understanding how culture, history, and food inform wellness and community well‐being.