“The food sovereignty movement has so many powerful stories that needed to be told from the community perspective,” said Michael E. Roberts, First Nations Development Institute President and CEO. “Hearing stories about Native people from Native people, along with experts in this type of storytelling, brings a tribal producer’s vision and First Nation’s work to the forefront.”

To mark Indigenous People’s Day on October 12 -- and hear Native stories from Native people -- we invite you to a free virtual screening of the film GATHER on October 6 at 6:30 p.m.  GATHER features the work of Native communities building sustainable foodways to improve health and food security.

Register today!

The film highlights Nephi Craig, a chef from the White Mountain Apache Nation in Arizona, establishing an indigenous café and recovery clinic; Elsie Dubray, a young scientist from the Cheyenne River Sioux Nation in South Dakota, conducting nutritional studies on bison; and the Ancestral Guard, environmental activists from the Yurok Nation in Northern California, working to save the Klamath River.

After the film, we will host a live discussion with Sanjay Rawal, Award-Winning Filmmaker and Director of Gather, and A-dae Romero-Briones, First Nations Development Institute Director of Programs – Native Agriculture and Food Systems. We thank our partners, Monadnock Food Co-op, Monadnock International Film Festival and Monadnock Farm and Community Coalition for co-hosting this event. This event is free, but registration is required. We hope you’ll join us!

More About Indigenous People’s Day

Indigenous Peoples' Day falls on the second Monday of October, offering an alternative to Columbus Day.  This holiday honors and celebrates Native American people -- their history, culture and present-day experiences.  While not an official holiday in New Hampshire, the City of Keene passed a resolution earlier this year to recognize Indigenous Peoples' Day -- joining with three other New Hampshire towns: Dover, Durham and Hopkinton.

“This is an important transition we’re making -- a transition from being a European-centric community to a people-centric community for all people who have lived here and live here now,” said Keene Mayor Kendall Lane at last year’s Indigenous Peoples' Day event at Keene State College.

“Indigenous people were in the Americas by 1492, we were the first astronomers, geographers, physicists, doctors, botanists, on and on. We were the first on this land. Let’s acknowledge it and let’s teach it,” said Donna Moody, Franklin Pierce University Adjunct Professor and Tribal Elder in the Abenaki Nation. “We’re rooted here, our story is here, our language is here, our ancestors are buried here. Let’s acknowledge it and let’s teach it. Let’s address the underlying issues of bias and oppression.”

She continued, “When these issues are being addressed and progress made, then we really have begun to address the issues of the genocide of the land, the disappearance of language, the disappearance and erasure of our histories.”

New Resource: Indigenous New Hampshire Harvest Calendar

This year, New Hampshire Farm to School and the Indigenous NH Collaborative Collective introduced the Indigenous New Hampshire Harvest Calendar curriculum highlighting local, indigenous crops, recipes and activities. The curriculum is divided into four seasons and follows the Abenaki method of measuring time, the 13 Moon Calendar.  Please check out this resource and don’t forget to get your free ticket to the film GATHER to learn more about indigenous foodways beyond New England.

Other TLC Monadnock News

Whether you're looking for a little plaid flair or aiming to don plaid from head-to-toe to celebrate this year's Plaid Friday, we want to help. Stay tuned for our Virtual Plaid Friday Pop-Up Shop in October.

Also in October, we’ll host an online introductory webinar with Michael Shuman called "Rebooting Your Community After COVID - How to Invest Locally Using Self-Directed IRAs and Solo 401ks" on October 15, 2020, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. This event is free, but registration is required.

If there’s enough interest generated at our introductory workshop, we’ll work with Michael to offer a full workshop on this topic in our region (hopefully live!).  The workshop would cover the twelve types of local investment opportunities available in almost everyone’s backyard (some that are likely to beat the returns from Wall Street).  It would also highlight what next steps we can take to shift millions of dollars of capital into local businesses struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.  

We hope to see you virtually at our October offerings!