Rainwater Harvesting Leads to More Culturally Appropriate Food in Water-Scarce Native American Community

Food sovereignty—the right to healthy and culturally appropriate food—is key to Native American communities’ physical and mental health. To achieve this goal, such communities must have the right to define their agricultural systems and produce food through ecologically sound and sustainable methods. Native American households that gather food through the cultural practices of hunting, fishing, and growing tend to increase their food sovereignty, while those that rely on Eurocentric food assistance not aligned with a traditional diet are more likely to experience poverty, lack knowledge of Indigenous foods, and be food insecure.