In honor of Native American Heritage Month, The Mav Market will be sharing posts about Native American communities, paired with a recipe adapted from each nation. Our mission is to honor and uplift the communities that were nearly erased due to the colonization of the Americas. The Mav Market looks to celebrate the victories for American Indians, while illuminating the multiple atrocities that have been committed against indigenous communities into the modern age. We hope you enjoy our Native American Heritage Series this November!
Many years ago before the colonization of the Americas, Native communities were able to obtain resources in greater abundance due to their symbiotic relationship with the natural world. Unfortunately as years go by and the country became industrialized and Natives were stripped of their culture, it has grown more difficult for Native communities to thrive as they once had. This is causing homelessness, which is very difficult to measure since Native lands are under counted by the US Census. Tribes are encouraged to perform their own analyses of their homeless populations, as there is great power behind this data.
"The fact that the very people who spent thousands of years planting the seeds of America’s future now find themselves unsheltered is a bitter irony and one that should gravely sadden us." (2)
As American’s, it is crucial to remember why and where we attained “foods we eat to the words we use, all the way down to the clothes we wear.“ In Pine Ridge, Minneapolis, there’s an unemployment rate of 80% and natives living in tents on unsanitary concrete. This issue is not unique to Minneapolis, as Native American communities throughout the nation experience these issues at a similar rate. It is crucial to take action by acknowledging the atrocities that have been committed, and unite to make sure we strive to empower Native and Indigenous communities throughout the nation.
" The National Wildlife Federation Tribal Lands Conservation Program is one of a few examples of national homeless outreach geared toward Native Americans. Another way you can get involved is by contacting your legislators letting them know you expect solutions to the homeless crisis currently plaguing our nation. " - Cynthia Griffith
To pay honor to Native American History Month, please try our terrific Three Sisters Casserole!
Quotes and information sourced from: https://invisiblepeople.tv/modern-native-american-homeless-struggle/ Check out this website for incredibly valuable insight about the issue of homelessness in indigenous communities throughout the United States.