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In this first-person narrative, Lance Owyhee, Food Sovereignty Program intern in the Desert Farming Initiative through the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station, tells Nevada Today about the Food Sovereignty Program and an important event it held, “Paba Tuka.”

"Food sovereignty is defined as the right of people to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods. The concept of food sovereignty by nature encompasses food security, food access, food justice and environmental sustainability. This is the definition that we relate to here at the University’s , but that definition is loose and everchanging among the community, to fit appropriately with different and diverse Indigenous organizations across the globe.

Here at the University, the Food Sovereignty Program was started on a dream in 2021, after students experiencing the impacts of COVID-19 approached the University’s Desert Farming Initiative, aiming to increase access and awareness about culturally significant food and medicinal plants of the local tribes. The program was then founded with the help of the University’s Desert Farming Initiative, the Experiment Station and the Extension Program for Federally Recognized Tribes. It has since blossomed into what it is today, helping to develop demonstration gardens, providing a space to propagate culturally significant plants, hosting internships, and much more, including holding the program’s main event, the “Paba Tuka.”

Paba Tuka means “Big Eat.” Paba Tuka is our fall harvest dinner that allows for the community to get together and celebrate culture and hardships through a collective tradition of sharing a meal with one another. It combines all of our preparation and knowledge with the program, as well as work with different native and non-native organizations to make sure this event runs smoothly. The main focus of the dinner event is around our plants that we either gathered ourselves or have grown ourselves, to promote the main idea of being “food sovereign.”  

Some of the plants we have successfully grown and harvested include O’odham Ke:li Ba:so Melon, Casados Multicolor Corn, Paiute Pinto Bean and Poblano Chile, which are not native to our region but important in the mission for Indigenous food sovereignty. The plants we gathered or grew were then used for the preparation of our Paba Tuka.

In preparation for the main event, we hosted several other cultural events, such as gatherings of traditional berries, such as chokecherries, elderberries and buffaloberries. We also had an event where we gathered pinenuts with the help of Indigenous students, faculty and the community. These gatherings helped make some of our main dishes at our event, such as the chokecherry pudding, elderberry lemonade and pinenut soup. We also offered space and events for individuals to learn more about these plants and the dishes that can be made from them, as well as provided more cultural knowledge to Indigenous students who are interested in learning how to gather properly on their own. 

Several Indigenous students, faculty, community members, and family helped prepare and make dishes for the Paba Tuka, such as bison steaks, Indian tea, bfan stew, Frybread and many more! At our Paba Tuka, we hosted about 60 people at the Desert Farming Initiative’s washhouse on Valley Road. Students, staff, community, Indigenous members and family members attended. Although the event began at 4 p.m. we started preparing dishes the day before. The event was a great success. It was also a very emotional event for me, due to the fact that I have served as one of the main food sovereignty interns and will be graduating at the end of the semester. Great food, great atmosphere and great messages were shared all through the night at this unique cultural event. Please take a look at some photos of the event on our .

Finally, here is an experience shared by our food sovereignty intern Nina Vargas, who has just started with the program in September and has been a huge help with the program since. This is what she has to say about the event: 'For me, this was the first time I’ve helped plan, prepare and host such an important event. I think my favorite event while preparing for the Paba Tuka was gathering the pinenuts and preparing them for pinenut soup. Traveling to the site for the pine trees with several Indigenous students and community members was very exciting, as it was the first pinenut gathering I participated in. Working alongside everyone to gather pinecones and cook the pinenuts was also very exciting, as I got to see how much time and effort goes into preparing the pinenut soup. After all of our hard work during the Paba Tuka, it felt very rewarding to watch everyone enjoy the dishes that had been prepared and everyone's hard work. I am looking forward to working alongside everyone for the next Paba Tuka!'"