“Take care of your families, take care of one another”: Indigenist families and foodways

• Published date: 01 December 2023
• Author: Catherine E. McKinley
• Date: 01 December 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12864

RESEARCH

“Take care of your families, take care of one

another”: Indigenist families and foodways

Catherine E. McKinley

Tulane University School of Social Work, New

Orleans, LA

Correspondence

Catherine E. McKinley, Tulane University

School of Social Work, 127 Elk Place, New

Orleans, LA 70112-2699, USA.

Email: catmckinley@tulane.edu

Funding information

Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of

Child Health and Human Development,

Grant/Award Number: K12HD043451;

National Institute of General Medical Sciences,

Grant/Award Number: U54 GM104940;

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and

Alcoholism, Grant/Award Number:

R01AA028201

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this research was to examine

how families and foodways have evolved over time and

how they may presentpromising promotive factors for resil-

ience, health, and wellness.

Background: Because food is central to family, social rela-

tionships, and healthy living, Indigenist foodways may

promote family resilience and offset inequities.

Method: Pragmatic horizon analysis of data drawn from

31 critical ethnographic interviews on food and family in

the Southeast and Northwest, including both urban and

rural reservation tribal contexts, resulted in emergent

themes related to food and families.

Results: Themes included (a) foodways fostering family

connectedness: “The fresh vegetable is how I remember

my grandpa”; (b) tight-knit extended families and com-

munities: “The community where I grew up …everybody

knew each other, so everybody …pitched in”; (c) family

and community celebrations nurturing cohesion: “The

family I have, I can always count on. I can trust each one

of them”; and (d) families fostering healing: “Sit down and

talk to somebody …that you can trust.”

Conclusion: Participants explained how foodways pro-

moted family resilience by bringing families and communi-

ties together. Indigenist foodways fostered continuity and

healing through food preparation and processing and

through feasts and gatherings.

Author note: The author thanks the dedicated work and participation of the tribes and collaborators who contributed to this work. I

thank Jennifer Lilly, Jessica Liddell, Hannah Knipp, Tamela Solomon, Jennifer Martin, Maple Goldberg, Emily Matt Salois, and Dana

Kingfisher for their assistance. This work was supported, in part, by Award K12HD043451 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National

Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health (Krousel-Wood—PI; Catherine McKinley

[formerly Burnette]—Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women’s Health [BIRCWH] Scholar); and by U54 GM104940

from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health, which funds the Louisiana Clinical and

Translational Science Center. Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and

Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01AA028201). The content is solely the responsibility of the

authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Received: 1 February 2022Revised: 19 January 2023Accepted: 21 January 2023

DOI: 10.1111/fare.12864

© 2023 National Council on Family Relations.

Family Relations. 2023;72:2371–2389. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fare 2371

Implications: Foodways were described as fundamental to

family resilience and community connectedness. Subsis-

tence fostered exercise, eating locally sourced foods, and

family resilience. Interventions are needed to promote

Indigenist foodway sovereignty while first understanding

how culture, history, and food inform wellness and com-

munity well-being.

KEYWORDS

American Indian, culture, family resilience, foodways, health,

Indigenous, Native American, risk and protective factors

Because food is central to family, social relationships, and healthy living, Indigenist foodways

may promote resilience and wellness and offset inequities (Fredericks & Anderson, 2013).

Mortality rates for U.S. Indigenous peoples are nearly 50% higher than non-Hispanic Whites

and are intricately connected with settler colonial historical oppression undermining families

and health (McKinley, Ka’apu, et al., 2020). Still, research on food and on families fall along

separate inquiries and rarely overlap; no known research could be identified that investigated

these factors together. Moreover, Indigenous families are strikingly underrepresented and

nearly invisible in flagship family science journals, with even fewer articles focusing on family

protective and promotive factors (Gavazzi, 2022). The current research fills the gap in knowledge

of culturally grounded promotive factors related to family resilience and foodways, which can

be integrated into family and land-based healing approaches to health equity and wellness.

U.S. Indigenous peoples are more likely to be obese than non-Indigenous peoples (Bullock

et al., 2017; Redmond et al., 2019; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2020), and

obesity is the leading risk factor for Type 2 diabetes. Thus, it is not surprising that diabetes rates

are 3 times higher in U.S. Indigenous peoples compared with their non-Indigenous counterparts

(Indian Health Service, 2019). A traditional Indigenous diet, which is high in fruits and vegeta-

bles, has been found to be promotive for health across studies (Bersamin et al., 2014; Burnette

et al., 2020; Jernigan et al., 2010; Moy et al., 2010). Indigenous children are also more likely to

be obese than non-Indigenous children, which is linked to rapidly changing subsistence prac-

tices and the associated transition to a sedentary lifestyle (Bullock et al., 2017). According to

Mihesuah (2019), Indigenous children and adults spend less time outdoors than past genera-

tions, which diminishes their interest in nature. This view contrasts the historical worldviews of

Indigenous peoples, where people are extensions of nature and a broader ecological family of

relatives with common origins (Salm

on, 2000). Research on promoting healthy eating from the

perspectives of Indigenous stakeholders indicated the importance building on strengths, such as

subsistence and family and community support (Cueva et al., 2020; Stotz et al., 2021).

Food is at the center of social and symbolic activities in society. Indeed, food sharing with

families and communities is integral to daily life (McKinley & Walters, 2022; Peres, 2017). The

social, cultural, familial, and personal meanings experienced and transmitted through the pro-

duction, distribution, and consumption of food are implicit in the examination of foodways

(Peres, 2017). Subsistence is a strategy for acquiring food, which can include fishing, hunting,

growing, and gathering (Peres, 2017) and has been used to promote positive nutrition, diet,

exercise, and well-being among Indigenous peoples (Burnette et al., 2018). Research indicates

that subsistence is integral to obesity prevention (Cueva et al., 2020). Foodways include the

values, beliefs, and behaviors that accompany the production, distribution, and consumption of

food (Ruelle & Kassam, 2013). Indigenist foodways, within the framework of historical oppres-

sion, resilience, and transcendence (FHORT; Burnette & Figley, 2017; McKinley, 2023;

McKinley & Walters, 2022), examine decolonizing factors for resilience and transcendence.

2372 FAMILY RELATIONS