Like many students who had an amazing summer, Milo Vella 鈥23 is starting the semester thinking about how he will incorporate that experience into his senior thesis.
Vella, a Robert S. Harrison College Scholar in the 麻豆视频 & 麻豆视频, spent his summer gardening for the Big Pine Paiute Tribal Environmental Department and the Indian Water Commission in Owens Valley, Calif. His experience this summer built on a spring break trip from last year, funded by the student-run , advised by the David M. Einhorn Center for Community Engagement.
Vella is interested in 鈥渇ood sovereignty鈥 within Indigenous communities 鈥 a growing field of work and study focused on the connections between food, food systems, place, nutrition and Native peoples鈥 right to plan for their own future.
鈥淎gainst all odds, N眉眉m眉 , the Paiute people of the Owens Valley in California, have endeavored to maintain their place-specific food systems since the intrusion of European settlers onto their territories,鈥 Vella said. 鈥淢any of these communities and their governments are working to re-establish certain elements of their rich heritage foodways which hold continuing relevance in the face of contemporary crises.鈥
The movement involves not only re-establishing heritage foods, but also bolstering the systems that sustain them: irrigation and land access, for instance.
Vella鈥檚 spring work included organizing a series of workdays and free lunches at the Big Pine Tribal Community鈥檚 demonstration garden, featuring food purchased from Indigenous agricultural enterprises from across the U.S. Those products included roasted flour from the Iroquois White Corn Project, heritage tepary beans from the Gila River Reservation, and wild rice and foraged berry preserves from the Red Lake Nation.
鈥淚t was an exciting way to support food sovereignty programs across a large swath of territory and share the food with others, with reciprocity and gratitude for being able to work there,鈥 Vella said. 鈥淚t also was a nice enticement for the volunteers who work in the garden.鈥
For the Indian Water Commission, Vella is also helping draft a booklet about traditionally-irrigated native crops, whose proliferation could provide economic opportunities, as well as nuturitional, ecological and cultural benefits. He worked closely with a Nan眉眉m眉yadohana language speaker who shared insights about the philosophy of their culture through language. 鈥淟anguage revitalization and food system revitalization have a lot in common,鈥 Vella said.
As part of his education, Vella spent two years studying at , a small, remote, learning community on a cattle ranch in the N眉眉m眉 & Newe homelands of Eastern California. Students receive a full scholarship and prepare for 鈥渁 life of service to humanity.鈥 The College is associated with on West Campus.
Now back at Cornell, Vella鈥檚 College Scholar honors thesis focuses on the complexity of Indigenous food systems and whether scholars and activists who aren鈥檛 members of these communities can help support them. He鈥檚 reflecting on his experiences in the N眉眉m眉 context and conducting an extensive literature review to answer the question, 鈥淲hat does it take to re-establish a heritage cropping system?鈥
鈥淚鈥檝e learned how interdisciplinary studies and a liberal arts education have their roles even in a field like agriculture,鈥 said Vella, who is also pursuing a community food systems minor. 鈥淥ne needs to understand the politics, humanities, history, media, ecology. I feel very grateful to try my hand at that through the College Scholar program, community food systems minor, Deep Springs and working alongside N眉眉m眉 friends and leaders.鈥
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