Ebook The Great Tree Of Healthy Eating And Seasons Haudenosaunee Food Model: Culturally Specific Approaches To Encouraging Healthy Eating Habits
The health status of Native Americans and Alaska Natives across the United States is dire. Chronic disease runs rampant, drastically increasing mortality and lowering quality of life. Diabetes is especially prevalent, a fact that has been noted and researched with Native American and Alaska Native communities for decades. In response to these distressing health statistics, several tribes have initiated exercise and healthy eating programs, some of which have incorporated traditional eating practices. The traditional diets of tribes before contact with Europeans were developed over centuries to best utilize the surrounding plants and wildlife while optimizing health, and they were tailored to the needs of the specific tribes.
After contact with Europeans, and later Americans, traditional diets have deteriorated because of removal from traditional land bases and hardships associated with conquest and violent conflict. Tribes were also given rations by the federal government, which were incorporated into diets out of necessity, and were neither particularly healthy or anything they were used to. Current diets in many tribes have some traditional influences, but are mostly made up of what the general U.S. population eats. In concurrence with the mindset of programs that encourage traditional food programs, a few food models (e.g., similar to the USDA Food Guide Pyramid) tailored to specific traditional Native diets have been created over the past several years.
has been developed for and targeted to the Haudenosaunee. Through research I have conducted, in this thesis I will create two food models that coincide with Haudenosaunee teachings and incorporate traditional Haudenosaunee foods. I will present the strong need for alternative nutritional representations; I will also show how these models will have the potential of being utilized by Haudenosaunee for personal use or to be implemented by tribal health professionals through healthy eating programs.
The thesis proceeds as follows. First, I review the literature pertaining to factors surrounding the creation of a food model; next, I explain the methodology used for my interviews; then, I give my results and introduce my models. The discussion section follows, and finally, the conclusion where the importance of these models is reiterated.
CONTENTS
Abstract
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Literature Review
Methodology
Results
- Topics and Themes of the Interviews
Specific Traditional Foods
How Participants Defined Traditional Food
Time and Place of Eating Traditional Food
Affordability/Cost of Traditional Food
Availability of Traditional Food
The Models
Discussion
- Traditional Haudenosaunee Food System
Spiritual and Religious Importance of Traditional Foods
Healthful Benefits of Traditional Haudenosaunee Foods
Contemporary Times
Factors Influencing Consumption of Traditional Foods
Using the Models
Conclusion
Appendices
- Appendix A: Protocol
Appendix B: Recruitment Script
Appendix C: Oral Consent Script
Appendix D: Interview Questions
References
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