"Only four grocery stores serve the entire reservation. Fresh, healthy produce and meat options are often limited at these stores, and prices are higher than in neighboring communities, making access difficult for lowincome families. Instead, highly processed foods, rich in sugars, carbohydrates and fat make up the bulk of the food choices. Meanwhile, incidents of preventable health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and lung, colorectal and kidney cancers have been above statewide averages for more than a decade."
"For the Blackfeet, bison are as much a source of food as they are a part of their cultural identity. Before the bison's extermination, their movements across the plains shaped the Blackfeet way of life so much that nearly 200 years later, the community is still grappling with the generational trauma resulting from the sudden loss of these animals from the prairie."
The Blackfeet Nation faces limited food access across a remote reservation served by only four grocery stores. Fresh produce and meat options are often scarce and more expensive than neighboring communities, forcing lowincome families toward highly processed foods high in sugars, carbohydrates and fat. Preventable health issues including diabetes, heart disease and lung, colorectal and kidney cancers have exceeded statewide averages for more than a decade, and chronic illness rates surpass state, national and many other tribal nations. Loss of bison disrupted cultural foodways and caused generational trauma. Tribal government, non-profits and community members initiated a 2016 program asserting tribal management over agricultural resources.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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