Indigenous Day to focus on benefits of ancestral food sources

Sep. 29—MANKATO — Ancestral food sources as a way to strengthen cultural ties is the emphasis of Mankato’s 2023 Indigenous Peoples Day.

A variety of activities are slated Oct. 5-9 in conjunction with the observance.

This year’s theme is “Sustainability and Food Sovereignty.”

—Committee members are organizing “Food & A Band” 4-8 p.m. Oct. 6 at Kato Ballroom, 200 Chestnut St.

There is no admission fee for the event featuring music by the Minneapolis band Bluedog, Indigenous artists and vendors and food trucks.

—Community showings of the film “Return: Native American Women Reclaim Foodways for Health and Spirit” are slated 5 p.m. Oct. 5 in Ostrander Auditorium at Minnesota State University; and every hour on the hour between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. Oct. 6 at Blue Earth County Historical Society History Center, 424 Warren St., Mankato; and at 2 p.m. Oct. 8 at the history center.

There is no admission fee to view the film that explores the food sovereignty movement occurring across the country through the stories of women championing the return to traditional food sources. The documentary features Roxanne Swentzell and her Pueblo Food Experience project.

The founder of Indigikitchen — an online cooking show — is the keynote speaker for a presentation Oct. 9 at Ostrander Auditorium. Mariah Gladstone (Blackfeet, Cherokee) grew up in Northwest Montana. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in environmental engineering and returned home where she developed her cooking show.

Gladstone has earned recognition as a Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow through the First Nations Development Institute, a Culture of Health Leader through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and an MIT Solve Indigenous Communities Fellow. She serves on the board of the Food Access and Sustainability Team.

Since 2018, the city of Mankato has recognized the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day.

For more information about this year’s activities, go to: facebook.com/events/1864921283937009.

St. Peter

Participants in an Indigenous Peoples Day Walk Oct. 9 in St. Peter may use the activity to reflect on the history and culture of the country’s native peoples.

The walk begins 5 p.m. at St. Peter Middle School’s south parking lot and concludes about 7 p.m. in Minnesota Square Park. The Battle Creek players will perform.

Sponsors of the event focused on unity, diversity and inclusion are St. Peter Public Schools’ Native American Parent Advisory Committee and St. Peter’s Good Neighbor Diversity Council.