From 2021-2022, via direct engagement with over 85 Native food producers and entrepreneurs, First Peoples Worldwide collected qualitative and quantitative information from Native farmers, ranchers, harvesters, fishers, chefs, and practitioners to examine the current state of Native food supply chains and to collate recommendations towards strengthening and expanding these chains from Native perspectives. In addition to nearly 40 recommendations, overarching themes are:
- Native food businesses are creating food systems that care for both Native and non-Native people, guided by Indigenous values and self-determination.
- Systemic racism and inequitable access to capital continue to have profound and far reaching impacts on Native food systems, from lack of infrastructure to limited personnel bandwidth.
- Many of the barriers limiting the current supply of Native-produced foods can be addressed through creating sustained and equitable access to capital.
- At the broadest level, Native food producers are creating immense social value through their work, guided by Indigenous values that see the interconnections between Native food systems and individual, social, and environmental wellbeing.
Transparency | Diversity | Dynamism | Evidence-based |