Across the country, as households turn to planting and gardening as a relaxing hobby or to become more self-sufficient during turbulent times, the act of cultivating one’s own food has taken on a greater significance among Native American communities where the pandemic has laid bare an enduring food crisis and a desire to return to customs and traditions some fear are slowly being lost.

The idea of Native food sovereignty — that tribes can farm, access and secure healthy and culturally essential foods that empower their citizens, respect the lands and are not bound to outside policies — was already a growing movement among Indigenous peoples, said Elizabeth Hoover, an author and assistant professor of American studies at Brown University who writes about food and environmental health and justice in Native communities.

Via NBC As the coronavirus pandemic strains supplies, Native Americans fight food insecurity