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The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian is hosting its annual Living Earth Festival April 26–28 at its museum in Washington, D.C. Living Earth brings together Native innovators and practitioners dedicated to using Indigenous knowledge to protect and sustain the environment.
The theme of this year’s festival, “Farm to Table: Sustaining Our Future Through Indigenous Knowledge,” highlights multiple perspectives on Indigenous contributions to sustainable farming by exploring trends, innovations and sustainability in Native communities. Topics to be explored during the festival include business practices, land separation, sovereignty, seed preservation, health and education.
The festival’s opening event takes place Friday, April 26, at 6:30 p.m. in the museum’s Rasmuson Theater with a panel discussion and a film screening. The museum will show Karen Cantor’s 28-minute documentary Return, which examines how Native American women are reclaiming traditional foodways to improve the physical and spiritual well-being of Native communities. Panelists include Lori Arviso Alvord (Diné), the first Navajo woman to become board certified in surgery; Terrol Johnson (Tohono O’odham), a basket weaver, sculptor and health advocate who promotes indigenous foods; and artist Roxanne Swentzell (Santa Clara Pueblo), co-founder and president of the Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute, which teaches sustainable living practices for arid environments.
The screening and discussion will be webcast.
