September 25, 2020
THUNDER BAY— Indigenous rural development economist Winona LaDuke spoke about heading to the sugar bush when the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic hit during the Building Indigenous Food Sovereignty virtual meeting on Sept. 16.
The Building Indigenous Food Sovereignty in and around Anishinawbewi Gitchi-Gami and Animbiigo Zaagiigam meeting was held via Zoom by the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and the Indigenous Food Circle, which works with 14 First Nations in the Thunder Bay area.
“It seemed like the best thing to do, get out of town, head for the woods,” LaDuke says. “So I’ve been doing this, just reintegrating myself into my lifestyle that the Creator gave us.”
LaDuke says her work at Winona’s Hemp and Heritage Farm, located at the White Earth Reservation in Minnesota, is about food sovereignty.