Eating culture of the Navajo Nation facts for kids
The eating culture of the Navajo Nation is deeply connected to the long history of the Navajo people. The Navajo are a large Native American group living in the southwestern United States. Their location greatly shaped their traditional foods. Before and during the time Europeans arrived in the Americas, the Navajo widely used foods native to the New World. These included corn, boiled mutton, goat meat, acorns, potatoes, and grapes.
Over time, the Navajo diet started to become more like general American cuisine. However, it still keeps many special parts of the traditional Navajo culture from before European settlement. Today, the Navajo Nation is a large area within the United States. Like many Native American groups, the Navajo Nation faces challenges related to poverty. Their region is often called a food desert, meaning it's hard to find fresh, healthy food. Many Navajo people also experience food insecurity, which means they don't always know where their next meal will come from.
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The Navajo people have a history that goes back to the 1500s. Back then, their diet mostly relied on corn, much like other Native tribes. The rest of their food came from what was available in the Southwest. This included foods like pumpkins, yucca, elk, cottontail rabbits, mutton, and acorns.
Just like other Native tribes, Navajo women were usually in charge of cooking and serving food. Navajo cooking often used hornos, which are special clay ovens. To cook in an horno, a wood fire was lit inside and allowed to burn out. Then, the ashes were moved, and the food was placed inside to cook. Other tools used by the Navajo before Europeans arrived included tongs, stirring sticks, kettles, and ladles.
The Story of Fry Bread
One of the most important Navajo foods is fry bread. Its history makes it very special. In the mid-1800s, the U.S. government forced the Navajo to leave their lands in Arizona. This journey, known as the Long Walk of the Navajo, took them to Bosque Redondo in New Mexico. Hundreds of Navajo people sadly died during this difficult walk.
At Bosque Redondo, the land wasn't good for growing the Navajo's usual foods. So, the government gave them flour, salt, water, powdered milk, lard, sugar, and baking powder. From these simple ingredients, the Navajo created fry bread. Since then, fry bread has become a very important part of Navajo culture. It's also a symbol of strength and survival for many other Native American cultures.
Today, the Navajo people have adopted many parts of modern American life, and this shows in their eating habits. Government programs have sometimes led to Native diets shifting away from traditional foods. Instead, people often eat more modern, processed foods. These processed foods are very different in nutrition from the traditional Native foods. Studies suggest this change might be even stronger in the Navajo Nation compared to other Native tribes.
You can even find restaurants across the United States that specialize in serving Native American food. In some of these places, fry bread is served. This shows how important it is to the Navajo people and to Native Americans everywhere.
Finding Healthy Food
Like many Native American communities in the United States, the Navajo Nation faces challenges with poverty. The number of people without jobs and living in poverty is much higher than the national average. Research from 2006 and 2007 by Johns Hopkins University found that over three-quarters of people in the Navajo Nation reported some level of food insecurity. This means they sometimes worry about having enough food.
The same study also noted that the region is a food desert. In 2014, a study found there were only thirteen supermarkets in the entire Navajo Nation. Nine of these were located in towns right on the border of the Navajo Nation.
This study also found that healthier foods were easier to find in supermarkets than in convenience stores. Also, in both types of stores, healthy foods often cost more than unhealthy foods. The study suggested there might be a link between poverty among the Navajo people and less healthy eating habits.
Images for kids
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This map shows "food deserts" in the United States. Many parts of the Southwest, including areas of the Navajo Nation, are considered food deserts.
