Seedy Talks with Dr. Elizabeth Hoover
From Garden Warriors to Good Seeds:
Native American Food and Seed Sovereignty Movements
About the talk
Because ‘we are what we eat,’ the Native American food sovereignty movement is working to revitalize and perpetuate traditional food systems, in order to promote good physical, cultural and spiritual health. This is being done through the promotion of seed sovereignty and the reclamation and rematriation of Native heirloom seeds; through the work of Native chefs seeking to reclaim and define Indigenous cuisine; and in fighting for a clean environment in which to nurture these foods. This talk discusses nationwide Native American food sovereignty efforts, as well as current projects at the University of California, Berkeley.
About the speaker
Elizabeth Hoover (she/her/hers) is an associate professor in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Department at the UC Berkeley whose research, life, and community work focuses on food sovereignty and environmental justice for Native American communities. Based on collaborations with tribal communities across the US, Hoover has published books and articles about Native American food sovereignty and seed rematriation; environmental reproductive justice in Native American communities; and tribal citizen science and community based participatory research.
Seedy Talks is a community engagement and educational programming event that focuses on food justice, environmental justice, food and seed sovereignty, racism and discrimination in the food system, and food and farm traditions of People of Color and other Underrepresented Minoritized Communities. The event is organized by service assistant professor Mehmet Öztan, and sponsored by the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences.
Resources
Attendees are encouraged to check out the following resources prior to the event, to be prepared for the subject matter.
Hoover, Elizabeth. 2020. “Native Food Systems Impacted by COVID” Agriculture and Human Values 37(3):569-570. DOI: 10.1007/s10460-020-10089-7
Hoover, Elizabeth. 2017. “’You can’t say you’re sovereign if you can’t feed yourself:’ Defining and Enacting Food Sovereignty in American Indian Community Gardening” American Indian Culture and Research Journal 41(3): 31-70. DOI 10.17953/aicrj.41.3.hoover
Hoover, Elizabeth. 2021. “The Indigenous Corn Keepers Conference of Uchben Kah.” New Farmers’ Almanac, Vol V published January 2021
White, Rowen and Elizabeth Hoover. 2019. “Our Living Relatives: Maintaining Resilience and Seed Diversity in Native American Communities.” IN The New Farmers Almanac, Vol 4, edited and published by the Greenhorns, Chelsea Green Publishing Company. P 332-337.
Hoover, Elizabeth. 2020. “For Tribal Peoples, Food Justice Requires Environmental Justice.” In Lessons in Environmental Justice: From Civil Rights to Black Lives Matter, edited by Michael Mascarenhas, 199-215. Los Angeles CA: Sage Publishing.
Hoover, Elizabeth. 2021. “Protecting Our Living Relatives: Environmental Reproductive Justice and Seed Rematriation.” E-flux architecture. Special Issue: “Exhausted,” April 13 2021.
reprinted as;
Hoover, Elizabeth. 2021. “Sky Woman’s Daughters.” The Common Table May 13 2021 https://thecommontable.eu/sky-womans-daughters/