Comment on it's true
glilimith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks agoI believe it’s the verb tenses. Instead of it being a historical fact, it’s an ongoing practice of an ongoing group of people
Comment on it's true
glilimith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks agoI believe it’s the verb tenses. Instead of it being a historical fact, it’s an ongoing practice of an ongoing group of people
Horsecook@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
fossilesque@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
There is a huge community of indigenous agriculture in the US. I wouldn’t be surprised if there are a few Cherokee operations going. From what I see on IG it is going through a bit of a renaissance, but it is not my field.
fossilesque@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
I looked it up: According to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, there are over 80,000 Indigenous-operated farms in the U.S., covering over 57 million acres.^1^ The Cherokee Nation has its own Secretary of Natural Resources and a dedicated Seed Bank program that distributes traditional heirloom seeds (like Cherokee White Eagle Corn) to thousands of tribal citizens every year to maintain food sovereignty.^2,3^ However, Native American agriculture is a multi-billion dollar industry. It’s not “subsistence” in the 1700s sense; it’s a mix of large-scale ranching, commercial cropping, and traditional community gardens. Regarding the renaissance I mentioned: There is a massive “Food Sovereignty” movement right now where tribes are reclaiming their health and economies by growing their own traditional foods to combat issues like diabetes and food deserts.^4^
1: nass.usda.gov/…/Census22_HL_AmericanIndianANProdu… 2: naturalresources.cherokee.org/…/seed-bank/ 3: cherokee.gov/…/secretary-of-natural-resources-off… 4: indigenousfoodandag.com
Horsecook@sh.itjust.works 3 weeks ago
fossilesque@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
That’s a common misconception. Three Sisters polyculture can be more “efficient” than monoculture when you measure “efficiency” by nutritional yield and soil health rather than just ease of machine-harvesting. And while many operations utilize modern machinery, the “efficiency” of monoculture is actively being re-evaluated in the face of climate change. It can produce up to 20% more protein per acre than corn grown alone, while significantly reducing the need for synthetic nitrogen and irrigation.^7,8^ Large-scale tribal operations are increasingly using “strip intercropping,” which is alternating rows of corn/beans and squash, to allow for modern mechanized harvesting while maintaining the soil-health benefits of the traditional system.^9^ This is resilience-based commercial farming that utilizes what is called Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to survive droughts that kill monocultures.^10,11^
7: Food Yields and Nutrient Analyses of the Three Sisters: A Haudenosaunee Cropping System Ethnobiology Letters, 7(1), 87–98 (2016).
8: A framework to guide future farming research with Indigenous communities (2025)
9: Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative: Regenerating Native Agriculture
10: Why Indigenous Seed Keepers Hold the Future of Agriculture (2026)
11: en.wikipedia.org/…/Traditional_ecological_knowled…
glilimith@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 weeks ago
I have no knowledge on the topic so I can’t answer the first couple questions.
However, I will say its a useful correction to say there are ongoing efforts to maintain historical practices if it makes the correctee happy to hear that (as is the case in the meme). It’s also useful to remember that indigenous peoples still exist and aren’t just historical (something a lot of US folks aren’t taught in school)
fossilesque@mander.xyz 3 weeks ago
I did a little research, check it out above. :)