Sovereign Sustenance

It is evident that the U.S. government had a devastating effect on indigenous land, population, health, culture, and diet. Traditional ways of hunting, fishing, and harvesting were restricted by the U.S. government in which they were able to gain control of the food system and began distributing rations into indigenous communities. The intent of these rations was to prevent starvation rather than provide adequate nutrition. Thus, resulting in a broken food system.

The Leech Lake Reservation is located in northern Minnesota and has a border of 972 square miles but it should be noted that the tribe owns only 4% of the original acreage. The reservation is made up of 11 noncontiguous communities, which are separated by distances ranging from 40 to 160 miles, scattering 4,000 tribal members across the reservation. The tribe owns 1 grocery store and it is the only grocery store located within the reservation border. A Leech Lake tribal study found that traditional food projects, such as community gardens, often fizzle out due to the lack of funding, space, and participation. We also found that 1 out of 6 tribal members have access to working vehicle. So, how does the community get fresh food? Short answer; they don’t.

We are all versed with the term “Food Desert” and it often use it to describe a community that lacks access to fresh foods, access to grocery stores, income level and/or availability of public transportation. These tribal communities rely on convenience stores, but the shelves are stocked with foods of lower nutritional quality, which plays a factor in high rates of diet related adverse health effects. So, what do we call a community that lack access to fresh foods and grocery stores, to no fault of their own? Food apartheid is more than the lack of grocery stores and other health food options in non-white and/ low-income communities. Food apartheid also points to the discrimination of communities of color when it comes to economic opportunities. When developing food initiatives, the solution must address economic disparities. Putting grocery stores in these communities cannot be the only solution. It must start with equity across the board – job creation, education, and other opportunities in areas that have traditionally been ignored. 

The solution, Sovereign Sustenance, will utilize hydroponic technology to strengthen tribal food sovereignty and battle food apartheid on the Leech Lake Reservation.

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in nutrient rich water instead of soil. The roots of the plant are submerged in a nutrient-rich solution and the plant is supported by a grow medium such as gravel, vermiculite, perlite, rockwool, peat moss, and coconut fiber. There are several types of hydroponic techniques that could be exercised by the Leech Lake Reservation, these include; Deep Water Culture (DWC), Nutrient Film Technique (NFT), Wick System, Drip system, Aeroponic System, and Ebb & Flow.

Hydroponic technology provides the unique opportunity for the Leech Lake Reservation to take control and reshape their food system by allowing them to take advantage of growing indoors all year long. They will also have the opportunity to control what foods are grown and the quality of food distributed throughout the reservation.

Hydroponic technology is also flexible enough to allow the tribe to repurpose space and any building throughout the reservation to develop a system that works for any amount of space provided. This means access to fresh produce in even the most rural tribal communities.

Hydroponics would also create jobs and promote education throughout the reservation. The education topics could include food sovereignty, engineering, hydrology, nutrition, chemistry, cultural food history, Ojibwe language, environmental science, and agriculture. 

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and is part of the Ojibwe-Anishinaabe, which is the second largest indigenous group in North America after the Navajo Nation. Despite U.S. genocidal efforts, there is still retention of the original language, ceremonies, customs and beliefs while at the same time dealing with modern issues such as poverty and high unemployment rates. While these factors and many others have birthed extraordinary adverse conditions, there remains an underlying optimism and resilience that arises from the cultural strengths that people and families adhere to. The Ojibwe people have a rich history of hunting, fishing, and harvesting on Minnesota land but due to economic developments and climate change impacts on ecosystems and life cycles, the availability to fresh foods greatly diminished.

The Leech Lake Reservation has a disheartening unemployment rate of 30%, reflecting that poverty is a severe problem. 40.7% of all individuals identifying as American Indian, within the Leech Lake Reservation live below the poverty line. The household income varies significantly on the Leech Lake Reservation with the majority ranging between $5,000 and $19,999 annually.

Approximately 70% of the Leech Lake Reservation does not have access to a working vehicle and/or is more than 10 miles away from a grocery store, reflecting that food insecurity is also a severe problem. During the COVID-19 pandemic, majority of tribal members did not have the ability to obtain fresh produce more less go grocery shopping. A program was developed to purchase and distribute food to leech lake community members but the food was all shelf-stable food and lacked fresh produce. The food distribution program on the reservation delivers food such as canned good and dry goods to communities. There are tenant advocates and elderly advocates that drive tribal members to obtain food but these services are very limited. In all, there just isn’t enough workers and resources available to tribal members.

The Leech Lake reservation could greatly benefit from hydroponic technology. The hydroponic systems could be used in conjunction with the food distribution program. The hydroponic systems will allow the reservation to grow directly into the rural communities, which will provide them with their own produce and promote a healthy diet across the reservation. The food that is produced from the hydroponic systems can be distributed completely free or at an affordable rate to community members.

My solution, Sovereign Sustenance, directly benefits the Leech Lake Reservation by providing sustainable and locally grown produce to community members. I am a tribal member and I currently serve the Leech Lake Reservation as the tribal environmental health specialist. This position gives me a unique opportunity to listen to the issues tribal members have in every community. Majority of these issues include poor indoor air quality, water quality, and food borne illnesses. I perform kitchen inspections at every tribally owned and operated building as well as powwow vendors and I am aware of storage practices as well as food handling. I see what food is available to the Leech Lake Reservation and I understand what is being distribute into the community. The food that is available, very little of it is fresh produce. The fresh produce that is available at the grocery store is expensive and is from Mexico or Peru. The reservation does not have access to locally grown produce. I am currently developing a small hydroponic system so the community is able to see and understand hydroponic technology. The community buy in is gaining momentum every day. The tribal council, community members, and tribal programs all showed interest. I am currently hosting small tours of the system I have assembled and allowing the community to take pictures of the hydroponic system. The produce that will be harvested from the system will be given away to community members. 

I am well-positioned to deliver this solution to the Leech Lake Reservation because I have grown up on the reservation and currently work directly with the community today. I am constantly in the field performing health and safety assessment or following up with concerned tribal members and it is on these visits that they express their needs and concerns. I conduct interviews where I ask about their diets and where they obtain their food. It came to my attention that gardening is activity that was done in the past and not practiced anymore. I explain hydroponic technology and show them pictures of the hydroponic system I have in place. It was through community interviews that I was able to determine what crops to grow. I am currently growing strawberries, 3 types of tomatoes, and 2 types of squash. Community members and tribal programs frequently visit the hydroponic system to track progress and ask questions. 

My tribal upbringing and community involvement positions me to design and deliver a solution that is sustainable and effective to strengthen food sovereignty on the Leech Lake Reservation. 

Applying to Solve offers an opportunity to gain access to technical support, financial support, and partners that can provide the much-needed resources to foster the growth of hydroponic gardening on the Leech Lake Reservation. 

David Waybenais is a Red Lake Band member that grew up in the Leech Lake community. David attended school on the Leech Lake Reservation where he graduated high school in 2011. He then went to Haskell Indian Nations University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science. He then returned to the Leech Lake Reservation where he now serves as the tribal environmental health specialist. 

I have a concrete understanding why food sovereignty is very important to me and the tribe. When food sovereignty is discussed at the table, it's with an understanding that we grow our own food. However, I recently noticed that is it spoken about in the fashion of a project. Projects are short term. Food sovereignty is a movement and needs to be addressed with long-term actions. I also noticed that the only projects that come of the community are raised garden beds and community gardens. These projects often fizzle out and barely make it through the summer because of funding, space, and participation. We need to change what we are doing which is why I am implementing Hydroponics. 

Hydroponics is a method of growing plants in nutrient rich water instead of soil. Hydroponic technology provides the unique opportunity for the Leech Lake Reservation to take control and reshape their food system by allowing them to take advantage of growing indoors all year long. Hydroponic technology is also flexible enough to allow the tribe to repurpose space and any building throughout the reservation to develop a system that works for any amount of space provided. This means access to fresh produce in even the most rural tribal communities. Hydroponics offers the opportunity to capture high yield of locally grown produce with little water and energy input. 

As a team lead, program manager, and community member, my mission is to improve the quality of life for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. Taking control and reshaping the food system in place on the reservation will not only improve the lives of the community members but will ultimately strengthen the sovereignty of the nation as a whole. 

In the next year, the primary goal is to build the knowledge and skills to adequately build and maintain a successful hydroponic system. This goal will be met by conducting proper research and strengthening partnerships with Bemidji State University and Leech Lake Reservation. The research will assist with what crops can be grown but data will need to be kept and organized to understand our crops, systems, and practices. As our knowledge base and skills improve, the hydroponic systems will need to evolve to ensure successful growth and efficiency. Another primary goal for the next year is to grow a sufficient amount of produce for one community. This goal will be achieved by engaging community members in the harvesting process. Encouraging the community to harvest will promote a sense of ownership and will also strengthen the connection between people and food. Finally, the third primary goal for the next year is to incorporate the Ojibwe culture. This goal will be achieved by using the Ojibwe culture as a foundation for the hydroponic systems. The Ojibwe culture will be used to recognize the cultural importance of food and the language will be used when identifying plants, water, and materials.

In the next five years I am focused on establishing a sustainable and localized hydroponic farm that the tribe can rely on. My first goal is to grow a sufficient amount of food half of the reservation population. This goal will be achieved by increasing the size of the hydroponic garden to accommodate the required yield. The team will also need to grow to support the system maintenance and to emulate current propagation and harvesting practices. The second goal is to increase the hydroponic system sustainability and productivity. This goal can be achieved by updating the hydroponic equipment to improve energy consumption and efficiency. Finally, the third goal is to localize hydroponic systems and resist the dependency on nontribal distributors. This goal can be achieved by building satellite sites in outer communities to reduce the distance between hydroponic systems and consumers. 

Various qualitative and quantitative indicators are used to measure the progress towards my goals. 

1. The number of seedlings per species that are planted in the hydroponic system. Each plant will be labeled, and the growth rate will be tracked to understand the life cycle. 
2. The harvest for each plant will be measured to understand the yield per plant and quality of produce. 
3. The number of community members served. I will work diligently to understand the needs of each family and understand how much product will be required to fill those needs. Each harvest will need to be capitalized. 
4. Maintenance! I am tracking the initial cost of each hydroponic system as well as the cost of maintenance. As the hydroponic system evolves the equipment will need to either need to be extended or replaced. A budget was created to track the material obtained. This breakdown includes the initial cost for each hydroponic system to be assembled and then the cost of maintenance which includes nutrients. 

The theory of change for the solution, Sovereign Sustenance, is to strengthen food sovereignty and the connection between community members and their food on the Leech Lake Reservation. The hydroponic technology is a modern tool to reconnect the people back to healthy foods, healthy food systems, and to a sustainable lifestyle on the reservation. Through the Ojibwe culture, engagement, and education my solution will make a positive impact and make progress towards indigenizing our food system. 

The core technology that powers Sovereign Sustenance is nutrient rich water. Whether the water is obtained from the tap, lake, or rain, it will need to be replenished with the proper nutrients which will then be used in a hydroponic system. Hydroponics uses as much as 10 times less water than traditional farming. This is possible for the reason that the nutrient rich water is captured and reused in the hydroponic system. There are other tools that I will use to support a hydroponic system like a timers, monitors, water pumps, and grow lights but the core technology will be nutrient rich water. 

A major part of my solution is to promote and incorporate diversity, equity, and inclusion. Food Apartheid is what we get when diversity, equity, and inclusivity are missing in a community's food system. In order to battle food apartheid, simply putting a grocery store into a community cannot be the solution. Food Initiatives such as my solution must build from a foundation that incorporates diversity, equity, inclusion across the board. To ensure my work meets all of these essential needs, I must prioritize the community engagement on every level. I must understand their needs and interests when evolving the hydroponic systems.  

Sovereign Sustenance is a food initiative that formed to establish a sustainable food system that will provide locally grown produce by utilizing hydroponic technology. The Sovereign Sustenance food initiative wants to reshape and indigenize the current food system on the Leech Lake reservation. 

Sovereign Sustenance has received a grant from GRID Alternatives but now relies on funding from David Waybenais. The plan for Sovereign Sustenance to become financially stable it to receive assistance from grants to successfully establish in the reservation. Once established and produce is being generated with a high yield, the produce can be sold at farmers markets and directly to tribal programs and grocery store. 

I received $30,000 in grant funding from GRID Alternatives.