Planet Forward hosted its second salon of the academic year in November in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations. The salon, “How Can Indigenous Cultures Inform Sustainable Agriculture?” brought together experts from a range of Indigenous communities to share understanding of traditional ecological knowledge and how stories shape sustainable practices. The conversation ranged from seeds and planting to hydrology to regenerative agriculture. 

Dr. Karletta Chief, director of the Indigenous Resilience Center at the University of Arizona, discussed the myriad ways “Indigenous peoples have knowledge systems of conservation for water use and other agricultural practices that are more sustainable and that worldwide will need to be recognized,” she said. ”Individually, as users and consumers, we need to change our practices of overuse and overproduction.”

Other panelists included John Manirakiza, an Indigenous African businessman and farmer at Florencia Farms; Denisa Livingston, food justice organizer of the Diné Community Advocacy Alliance and Slow Food International Indigenous Councilor of the Global North; and Mikaila Way, Indigenous Peoples’ Liaison at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

You can watch the event, “How Can Indigenous Cultures Inform Sustainable Agriculture?” above.