About two years ago, Charlotte and I were leaving a Food Sovereignty Network meeting at the PBPN reservation, when we were asked if we would like to join the Planning Committee for the Annual Tribal Health Summit coordinated each year by KATCH (Kansas Alliance for Tribal Community Health). Olivia Pewemo was the tribal member who asked us to be a part of this well-attended important event. Olivia is a Public Health Specialist for the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board and currently serves as Co-Chair for KATCH.

The 2023 Summit took place on August 28 at the Sunflower Foundation in Topeka. The opening ceremony featured the Kickapoo Color Guard and the PBPN Little Soldier Drum Group who led the Invocation. Four dynamic panelists followed with, “Tribal Community Health Needs: A Conversation with Tribal Leadership.” Speakers in breakout sessions included former Kansas Rep. Christina Haswood, a member of the Navajo Nation who talked “Tribal Public Health in Kansas Policy”; and Dr. Anita Warrior, an American Indian Child Psychologist, owner of Morningstar Counseling, and a member of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma presented, “Reclaiming the Path of Wellness: Culturally Responsive Approaches in Behavioral Health and Substance Abuse.”

During the breakout, “Tribal Food Sovereignty Conversation: What’s Happening in Kansas and Beyond,” I briefed about KRC’s partnership with PBPN on the Rural Cinema Environmental Justice Film Series. The four film screening events throughout 2023 catalyzed community members in conversations about food sovereignty and climate change. Films shown were Gather, Food Sovereignty in Indian Country, Youth Vs. Gov, Kiss the Ground and Common Ground.

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Other summit sessions included Self-Care and the Five Senses, Diabetes Prevention and Breastfeeding Among Generations of Indigenous Moms in Kansas. I was also honored to be one of three judges for the health-themed chalk contest of some extraordinary drawings, staged on Sunflower’s large outdoor patio. KRC donated a diverse mix of locally made, healthy breakfast/snack items, which were well received by the 150 ish participants. What an invigorating happening this was!

When it was apparent that we would be asked to help with, not only the 2024 Health Summit, but Sunday Funday too, I was elated to, again, be involved with an ingenious group of collaborators representing different professions and interests culminating in human health. The day before the summit, August 11, was Sunday Funday, a big deal for families/kids, held at the PBPN People’s Prairie Park. I coordinated the moderator for the Athlete Panel, Haskell’s Women’s Basketball coach, Adam Strom, who ironically I became connected with via his wife, Relyn, the principal of Robinson Middle School in Central Topeka.

The summit took place at the Prairie Band Casino & Resort. A huge highlight was listening to Chef Stephanie Pyetwetmokwe DeSpain, a member of the PBPN Tribe and the first winner of Gordon Ramsey’s new groundbreaking TV show, Next Level Chef. In 2021, Chef Peyet was named one of the Top 25 best private chefs in Los Angeles by Entrepreneur Magazine. Her life’s work is dedicated to indigenous fusion cuisine, in which she combines the food of her heritage- both Native American and Mexican. Her passion is to uplift indigenous culture and traditions via storytelling and cooking. In addition to presenting, “From Roots to Recipes” for a plenary session, Chef Peyet helped lead the breakout session I assisted with, “Healthy Food Choices.”

Other sessions included panel discussions on Opioid, Fentanyl, Narcan, Caregiving and Estate Planning- “What My Family Should Know.”

With Maria Fairman’s steadfast leadership in the Director position as the program administrator for KATCH, the 19-member Planning Committee pulled off another grand opportunity for learning, networking, laughing and dining on healthy, scrumptious Indigenous cuisine, prepared by Prairie Band Casino & Resort’s Chef Odell. Nice door prizes included two large garden/cooking themed gift baskets donated by KRC in exchange for a promo table along with many other vendors dedicated to this worthy cause.

Another exciting community project began last fall when I coordinated KATCH members, the K-State Meadowlark Extension Horticulture Agent, Laura Philips, and other stakeholders to acquire a $6,000 grant for a project aimed at growing garden seedlings for the community while providing education and hands-on training in a wide variety of gardening techniques. The award came from a cooperative agreement the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts (KACD) has with the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) that involves Specialty Crops and Urban Conservation. 

Support for the project also comes from the Meadowlark Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program. Last fall Laura worked with KATCH and the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation (PBPN) Firekeeper Elder Center to bring the K-State Extension Master Gardener (EMG) program to the PBPN community for the first time. The Master Gardeners and other members of the PBPN community recently visited the Olathe Horticulture Research Center to learn more about working in a greenhouse, which included suggestions on building greenhouse tables and lectures on tomato grafting and Japanese Beetles. 

The five newly trained Master Gardeners, with the support of PBPN Department of Planning and Environmental Protection and KATCH, are using the $6,000 grant to pay for seeds, planting materials, and the cost of rent and utilities at a greenhouse owned by Prairie Band Ag LLC. They have already planted over 500 seeds at the greenhouse, with plans to start more in the coming weeks. The funding will also go towards upcoming workshops where seedlings will be given away and outside speakers will help educate and excite community members about growing their own food and rekindling and sharing native seed knowledge. 

Also part of the overall project is a new pollinator garden directly outside the Firekeeper Elder Center. On a chilly day last November, I volunteered with the Master Gardeners, community members, and students from Haskell University to spread buffalo manure and cardboard for mulch. In addition, I sourced rye seed for a winter cover crop from a regenerative farmer near the reservation. A portion of the seedlings started in the greenhouse with the KACD/NRCS funds will go towards this garden. Through these initiatives, the EMG program based at the PBPN Firekeeper Elder Center hopes to expand to reach the other tribal communities. 

A portion of KRC’s funding to work on projects such as these came from the EPA Region 7 Heartland Environmental Justice Center (HEJC), whose funding has been terminated.