Indigenous Forum – Natural Law and Food Sovereignty
How does “Natural Law” teach us to take care of Mother Earth? And what is the intimate relationship between natural law and food sovereignty? The Indigenous-led food sovereignty movement has spread rapidly over the past decade. Food sovereignty is more than just returning to ancestral diets for health and wellbeing. It is also a return to natural law while honoring our responsibilities towards all life on earth. In this panel, three Indigenous women share their personal journeys to food sovereignty, what this has meant for their communities, and why food sovereignty is so much more than a movement. Moderated by Alexis Bunten. Featuring Tabitha Robin, Rowen White and Marcus Briggs-Cloud.
Berkeley Ballroom, Residence Inn
March 28th | 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm
Panelists
Tabitha Robin
Assistant Professor in the Applied Biology Program
University of British Columbia
Tabitha Robin, Ph.D. (Métis/Cree/settler ancestry), an Assistant Professor in the Applied Biology program at the University of British Columbia, earned her doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Manitoba, where she examined the role of food in Cree helping and healing practices. Her research includes how Indigenous knowledges can be used as food literacy; the reclamation of Indigenous seed knowledges; and factors that affect Indigenous food sovereignty.
Marcus Briggs-Cloud
Co-Director
Ekvn-Yefolecv
Marcus Briggs-Cloud (Maskoke), Ph.D., is a language revitalizer, scholar, musician and co-director of Ekvn-Yefolecv: an off-grid, climate-positive, income-sharing ecovillage comprised of Maskoke People who, after 180 years of displacement, returned to their homelands for language and cultural revitalization and ecological stewardship. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School who also has a doctorate in ecology, Marcus’ research intersects ecology, genetics, linguistics, liberation theology, and ecofeminism.
Rowen White
Director
Sierra Seeds
Rowen White, an Indigenous seed-keeper from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne and a passionate activist for Indigenous seed and food sovereignty, is the Director of Sierra Seeds, an innovative organic seed organization focusing on Indigenous seed stewardship and education. Rowen is the founder of the Indigenous Seedkeepers Network, which is committed to restoring the Indigenous Seed Commons across North America through restoring seed kinship routes.
Alexis Bunten
