Growing Stronger: The Sustainable Roots of Indigenous Agriculture | Article

It has become quite clear that climate change jeopardizes American food production systems as they exist today. At the same time, the American agriculture industry has enormous potential to both mitigate emissions and adapt to a rapidly-changing climate. Adopting sustainable agriculture practices, defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as “farming in such a way to protect the environment, aid and expand natural resources and to make the best use of nonrenewable resources,” is key to fulfilling the nation’s demand for reliable, nutritious food in a changing climate. Traditional Indigenous agricultural practices can serve as an essential guide in the widespread adoption of sustainable, regenerative agriculture methods.

Industrial agriculture, characterized by practices such as monocropping, maximizes production efficiency in the short term at the expense of degrading soil, water, and other resources. Though it has been used to feed the globe’s rapidly growing population at a low monetary cost, its environmental costs mean that it is unsustainable in the long term. Additionally, changes in global climate may jeopardize the viability of industrial agriculture practices. Producers and governments are investing more time and resources into sustainable agriculture research and practices with the dual goals of reducing detrimental environmental impacts and increasing agricultural resilience.

Through the Lens of Life

Many of the methods we refer to as regenerative agriculture practices originate in Indigenous tradition. Unlike the industrial-scale agriculture that has dominated much of the American agriculture industry over the past century, Indigenous agricultural practices—which vary widely by tribe and location—are heavily localized and embedded in the broader fabric of ecosystem, climate, and community practices. In many Indigenous cultural philosophies, the line between human and natural doesn’t always resemble the stark, often adversarial distinction drawn in Western ideology. Thus, Indigenous agricultural practices are often less extractive and better for long-term, full-ecosystem health. Because these practices are ecologically and culturally adapted to sustaining balance within their particular ecological settings, they inherently adhere to a regenerative philosophy.

Chief of Staff for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska Missty Slater explained the ideology behind the Tribe’s agricultural practices in an interview with EESI.

“We look at all of our decisions through the lens of life and not just human life,” said Slater. “We recognize the life and the livelihood of water, of soil, of plants and animals … when life is at the core of your decisions, sustainability comes naturally.”

Though the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska has fewer than 5,000 members, the Tribe’s commitment to sustainable, regenerative agriculture practices grounded in tradition and culture is creating big waves. The Tribe’s Center for Excellence for Regenerative Native Agriculture (CERNA) has recently received grant funding from USDA’s Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program. CERNA will promote Native leadership in elevating traditional agricultural practices by sharing them among a multi-state network of tribes.

Agriculture Grounded in Ecology

Over 1,200 miles away, in the desert landscape of Tucson, Arizona, members of the Tohono O’odham Nation are also integrating traditional ideologies and cultural tenets into the farming practices of the San Xavier Co-op Farm. While speaking with EESI, Farm Manager Duran Andrews mentioned that he was the first member of the Tohono O’odham Nation to hold the position since the original farm manager. He described himself as a “perfect example” of the way that knowledge is passed directly through generations. The farm’s first manager directly taught Andrews, both informally and through the Tohono O’odham Community College’s extension program. Andrews implements traditional values of respect for land, water, animals, plants, and elders into the farm’s everyday operation: the farm grows native plants and traditional crops, avoids pesticides, performs ceremonies of thanks for the Southwest’s scarce water, and incorporates soil testing to promote ecosystem health.

Two particular cultural tenets form the basis of varied Indigenous sustainable agriculture practices across the country. First, Indigenous practices are integrated into an ecosystem-wide model of human interaction that perpetuates natural systems. Second, they are planned and executed with an eye for long-term resilience and continuity.

A focus on cultivating native plants and perpetuating natural balances can form the foundation of sustainable, ecologically-grounded agricultural practices. This focus is baked into Indigenous farming practices.

“The effect that we have on the environment is really positive,” remarked Andrews, while discussing the impact of the farm’s cultivation of native plants and the habitats created by the farm’s flood runoff channels and irrigation systems. “Our understanding of our effect on nature [means that] we can work with it to get a little more benefit.” The farm’s water management practices go one step further, according to Andrews: “We’ve actually contributed to the recharge of the aquifer here in the San Xavier District.”

Through careful use of water, the farm has helped bring the groundwater to within 30 feet of ground level, and begun to return water to the depleted Santa Cruz River, demonstrating the ecosystem benefits of these practices.

From the Past to the Future

The long-term, system-centric mindset that underlies Indigenous practices also contributes to their resilience and sustainability. Whereas industrial agriculture focuses on maximizing production in the short term, Indigenous practices incorporate generational continuity.

“We look through the lens of the seven-generation model,” said Slater. “For every decision we make, we ask ourselves, ‘What impact will it have on the next seven generations? What have we learned from the previous seven generations that we can apply here?’”

On the ground, this type of planning can reconcile new technologies with traditional practices. The Tohono O’odham Co-op Farm plants in accordance with a 12-year plan, and has recently begun to use the FarmLogic application, a mobile app created by and for farmers to support soil sampling, recordkeeping, crop mapping, and personnel management.

Andrews believes that Indigenous practices are also uniquely suited to resilience. He spoke with EESI in July 2023, as a record-breaking heatwave baked the American Southwest. Though the prolonged severity of this heatwave was beyond what the community had seen before and indicative of more extreme weather to come, heat itself is not new, and the native crops grown on the farm are some of the most hardy and resistant to heat and drought. For instance, tepary beans—which are traditionally watered only by monsoon rains, and pack a nutritious punch despite requiring minimal resources—are a staple of the Tohono O’odham Nation’s traditional diet. The propagation of these resilient, ecologically-suited plants requires long-term planning and careful saving of seeds, both by tribes themselves and through organizations including Native Seeds/SEARCH.

While the American agricultural industry can benefit greatly by learning from Indigenous producers and traditional methods, the learning process must also center and properly respect Indigenous people and culture. The past and continued exploitation of Indigenous people, resources, and knowledge must be addressed in the federal support for expanding sustainable, regenerative agriculture practices informed by Indigenous tradition. By supporting an Indigenous-led movement, the federal government can facilitate restorative justice and ecological sustainability.

Author: Georgia Wluka

Read the other articles in our Growing Stronger: Spotlight on Indigenous Sustainable Agriculture series on Growing Stronger: Supporting Indigenous Sustainable Agriculture through Federal Policy and The Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension Program at Work.