In this episode we’ll be learning about how regenerative fiber systems are rooted in our relationship with place, and how Indigenous and traditional land stewards hold and practice a vision for whole ecosystem function at a landscape level.
Today we are sharing a conversation between Fibershed founder Rebecca Burgess, and A-dae Romero-Briones, who is the Director of Programs – Native Agriculture and Food Systems at the First Nations Development Institute.
Tune in to hear from A-dae about Indigenous land stewardship, as A-dae explains some of the distinctions between terminology and frameworks like regenerative agriculture, traditional ecological knowledge, and kincentric ecology, and describes the drawbacks of focusing on say, agricultural certifications or measuring carbon sequestration. As A-dae describes, there is a deep need to understand both our own relationships with place and ecology, and to honor the relationships between indigenous people and place that span so many generations. A-dae and Rebecca talk about indigenous fiber and food systems, and share how we have opportunities to change the way we grow, create, and value the goods that sustain us.
A-dae became Director of Programs – Native Agriculture and Food Systems in 2017, after first joining First Nations as Associate Director of Research and Policy for Native Agriculture. She formerly was the Director of Community Development for Pūlama Lāna‘i in Hawaii, and is also the co-founder and former Executive Director of a nonprofit organization in Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico.
A-dae worked for the University of Arkansas School of Law Indigenous Food and Agricultural Initiative while earning her LL.M. degree in Food and Agricultural Law. Her thesis was on the Food Safety Modernization Act as it applied to the federal-tribal relationship. She wrote extensively about food safety, the Produce Safety rule and tribes, and the protection of tribal traditional foods. A U.S. Fulbright Scholar, A-dae received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Public Policy from Princeton University, and received a Law Doctorate from Arizona State University’s College of Law, in addition to her LL.M. degree in Food and Agricultural Law from the University of Arkansas.
Show Notes:
- Visit First Nations Development Institute online and on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Youtube to learn more
- Watch Gather at Gather.film and view clips by following @gatherfilm on Instagram
- Read the FNDI Publication: Recognition and Support of Indigenous California Land Stewards, Practitioners of Kincentric Ecology
- Learn about “Kincentric Ecology” as defined and described by Enrique Salmon: Kincentric Ecology: Indigenous Perceptions of the HumanNature Relationship
- Enrique Salmon’s book: Eating the Landscape: American Indian Stories of Food, Identity, and Resilience
- Watch the webinar replay in First Nations Development Institute’s Stewarding Native Lands series featuring A-dae’s presentation on “Decolonizing Regenerative Agriculture”
- Indigenous Community: Rekindling the Teachings of the Seventh Fire, by Gregory A. Cajete, PhD
- Louie Garcia, weaver from the Piro Manso Tiwa tribe of Guadalupe Pueblo, shares more about Native American cotton cultivation and cultural practices in the Native Fiber Systems panel from the 2020 Fibershed Wool & Fine Fiber Symposium
Thanks for listening to the tenth episode of Soil to Soil, a podcast connecting the dots in the lifecycle of clothing and material culture, brought to you by Fibershed, which is a non-profit organization based in Northern California. Each episode offers a look at how, and why, our community is working to cultivate fiber and dye systems that build soil & protect the health of our biosphere.
This episode is hosted by Jess Daniels, with production support from Whetstone Media and music by Arann Harris. Photo credits: Paige Green Photography, with additional images via the First Nations Development Institute and Louie Garcia.