An Exploration of Time and Sacredness in Indigenous Food Sovereignty Movements: A Case Study of The Sioux Chef Open Access

Abstract

This thesis explores how sacredness and time manifests in Indigenous food sovereignty movements in the United States through the case study of The Sioux Chef. The Sioux Chef is a coalition of Indigenous chefs from North America who work to revitalize Native ingredients and cuisines. In the thesis, I argue several things: 1) Indigenous theorists understand time as space-time, 2) Indigenous food sovereignty movements foreground sacredness as existing within space-time, and 3) that while Indigenous food sovereignty movements foreground sacredness, sacredness operates as an undercurrent in The Sioux Chef’s work as the organization prioritizes discussions of food as cultural restoration and health. In order to arrive at these conclusions, I rely on observational data collected at Terra Madre, a Slow Food International Conference, and coded for “mention of” words in 11 articles about The Sioux Chef. Seven of these eleven articles were posted on The Sioux Chef’s website and are utilized in order to assess the public image and rhetoric of the organization. Overall, this thesis combines Indigenous scholarship on sacredness, time, and food in a way that has not yet been done by scholars in food studies.  

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………….………...1

Chapter 1…………………………………………………………………………………………………..12

Indigenous Scholarship on Sacredness and Time

Chapter 2…………………………………………………………………………………………….….…25

Western Understandings of Religion and Continued Settler Time Frames

Chapter 3…………………………………………………………………………………………….….…37

Indigenous Food Sovereignty and Time

Chapter 4……………………………………………………………………………………….….............50

A Note on Methodology and Introduction to the Sioux Chef

Chapter 5…………………………………….….….….….….….….….….….….….….….…..….….….59

Interview and Article Data

Chapter 6…………………………………………………………………………………………………68

Conclusions on Religion, Food, Sacredness, and Time

APPENDICES……………………………………………………………………………………………74

Works Cited ……………………………………………………………………………………………78

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Religion
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Agriculture, General Religion, Comparative Anthropology, Cultural
Keyword	Indigenous Studies, Food Sovereignty, Food Studies, Sacredness, Time
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Barbara (Bobbi) Patterson, Emory University
Committee Members	Debra Vidali, Emory University Mandy Suhr-Sytsma, Emory University Jessica T. Wahman, Emory University

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