Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens
Subtitle: Indigenous Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness (At Table)
Publisher: University of Nebraska Press
Published: December 1, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 218
ISBN-13: 9780803232532
Subjects: Indigenous peoples; National & regional cuisine; Health & Fitness; Ethnic Studies - Native American Studies; Cooking / Wine; Regional & Ethnic - General; Diet/Nutrition; North America; Indian cookery; General; Social Science / Native American Studies; Diets - General; Food; Indians of North America
First sentence: In a recent commentary, physicians Neal D. Barnard and Derek M. Brown stated that the federal government advocates a diet that is unlike the traditional diets of Native peoples: "For Native Americans, current federal dietary guidelines promoting a meaty, chessy diet amounted to, perhaps inadvertently, the nutritional equivalent of smallpox-infected blankets."
Description: "Featuring an array of traditional Native recipes and no-nonsense practical advice about health and fitness, Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens, by Choctaw author and scholar Devon Abbott Mihesuah, draws on the rich indigenous heritages of this continent to offer a helpful guide to a healthier life. The first half of the book consists of clear and often pointed discussions of the generally poor state of indigenous health today and how and why many Natives have become separated from their traditional diets, sports, and other activities. Poor health, Mihesuah contends, is a pervasive consequence of colonialism. Indigenous foods and activities can be reclaimed, however, and made relevant for a healthier lifestyle today.

By planting gardens, engaging in more exercise and sport, and eating traditional foods, Native peoples can emulate the health and fitness of their ancestors."--Jacket.