2022 Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) Symposium

Location

ScholarSpace, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Presentation Type

Open Access Poster Presentation

Document Type

poster

Keywords

Sustainable agriculture--Iowa--Tama County; Fox Indians--Agriculture; Soil conservation--Iowa--Tama County;

Abstract

Native American culture demonstrates a spiritual relationship to food, land, and Earth. As opposed to European traditions valuing private property and exploiting the Earth for profit, Native American tradition believes the Earth is owned by no one; food and nourishment from it are a gift for all to take only as needed. The Meskwaki Nation originated around the Great Lakes but was removed to Tama County, Iowa. It is derived from the words “Meskwa” meaning “red” and “aki” meaning “Earth”. This Red Earth nation has initiated a Food Sovereignty program to pass along traditional growing and food preparation practices to their youth while defending environmental health. This project studies the Meskwaki Nation’s soils in four garden locations to understand how sustainable land management practices could help build environmental/climatic resiliency and maintain healthy soils. Tama County’s soil is some of the finest in the state of Iowa, with thick, well-drained topsoil, plentiful organic matter from prairie grasses, and loess deposits from glaciers. Iowa’s soil is important to our livelihood and must be protected against erosion and destruction due to human activity.

Start Date

29-7-2022 11:00 AM

End Date

29-7-2022 1:30 PM

Event Host

Summer Undergraduate Research Program, University of Northern Iowa

Faculty Advisor

Chad Heinzel

Department

Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences

File Format

application/pdf

Included in

Soil Science Commons

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Jul 29th, 11:00 AM Jul 29th, 1:30 PM

Geoenvironmental Implications on Food Sovereignty - Meskwaki Settlement, Tama County, Iowa

ScholarSpace, Rod Library, University of Northern Iowa

Native American culture demonstrates a spiritual relationship to food, land, and Earth. As opposed to European traditions valuing private property and exploiting the Earth for profit, Native American tradition believes the Earth is owned by no one; food and nourishment from it are a gift for all to take only as needed. The Meskwaki Nation originated around the Great Lakes but was removed to Tama County, Iowa. It is derived from the words “Meskwa” meaning “red” and “aki” meaning “Earth”. This Red Earth nation has initiated a Food Sovereignty program to pass along traditional growing and food preparation practices to their youth while defending environmental health. This project studies the Meskwaki Nation’s soils in four garden locations to understand how sustainable land management practices could help build environmental/climatic resiliency and maintain healthy soils. Tama County’s soil is some of the finest in the state of Iowa, with thick, well-drained topsoil, plentiful organic matter from prairie grasses, and loess deposits from glaciers. Iowa’s soil is important to our livelihood and must be protected against erosion and destruction due to human activity.