{"id":55119,"date":"2024-02-06T01:00:16","date_gmt":"2024-02-06T09:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?p=55119"},"modified":"2024-02-06T12:18:56","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T20:18:56","slug":"listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/","title":{"rendered":"Listen to Plants, Says Indigenous Forager and Activist Linda Black Elk"},"content":{"rendered":"

A version of this article originally appeared in The Deep Dish, our members-only newsletter.\u00a0Become a member today<\/a>\u00a0and get the next issue directly in your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

Linda Black Elk<\/a> grew up listening to plants. The Indigenous ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist foraged with her mom and grandmother in the Ohio River Valley as a child, then made the Standing Rock Reservation<\/a> area in North Dakota her home alongside her husband, Luke, who is Cheyenne River Sioux<\/a>. These days, honoring her Korean, Mongolian, and Native roots, she teaches others how to nurture their relationships with the natural world. Together, she and Luke have spent years teaching members of their community (and their three sons) about the importance of traditional foods and medicines through publications, seminars, and hands-on workshops. <\/p><\/div>

\n

After overseeing the food sovereignty program at United Tribes Technical College<\/a> in Bismarck, North Dakota, Black Elk recently became the education director for Oglala Lakota chef Sean Sherman<\/a>\u2019s Minneapolis-based nonprofit,\u00a0North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems<\/a>\u00a0(NATIFS). There, she\u2019s using her vast ecological expertise to develop curriculum for the Indigenous Food Lab<\/a> training center and lead community engagement programming.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs NATIFS\u2019 education director, I organize classes about Indigenous foods covering a wide range of specialties, from how to cook wild rice to how to make perfect corn tortillas,\u201d she explains. \u201cWe\u2019ll be inviting guest chefs like Crystal Wahpepah<\/a> from Wahpepah\u2019s Kitchen<\/a> to come in and prepare some of her favorite dishes. We\u2019re also in the process of building a huge video library<\/a> that is completely open source, so everyone will have access to resources about food safety, knife skills, game animal processing, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n

“Unfortunately, our entire food system is determined by colonization, and our palates have also been colonized, largely by salt and sugar\u2014so we believe that everything we eat needs to be salty or sweet.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In addition to inspiring both Native American and non-Native students and her many social media followers<\/a>, Black Elk has also earned the respect of fellow foragers such as author and natural historian Samuel Thayer<\/a>. \u201cLinda has such a broad knowledge base, and I have learned so much from her,\u201d he says. \u201cShe is undoing the cultural shame that was instilled from boarding schools and the other ways that Indigenous people were pushed away from their food traditions. She mixes Indigenous traditional knowledge with modern science in a way that feels practical yet fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Black Elk\u2019s efforts go beyond education. In 2016, she was one<\/a> of thousands of water protectors<\/a> protesting the Dakota Access pipeline<\/a> over concerns that an oil spill would contaminate the Standing Rock Sioux\u2019s water supply and other resources. (The pipeline was ultimately built in 2017 and has been operational since.)<\/p>\n

Civil Eats recently spoke with\u00a0Black Elk about decolonizing our palates, foraging<\/a> as an act of resistance, and developing intimate relationships with dandelions.<\/p>\n

What sparked your initial interest\u00a0in ethnobotany?<\/strong><\/p>\n

My [paternal] grandma and I would go for walks, and she would point out all the plants I could eat and which ones I couldn\u2019t. She was always picking wild onions and poke greens<\/a>, which we would cook up with scrambled eggs for breakfast. She kept fresh strawberries around because they were my favorite snack.<\/p>\n

My mom was an Indigenous woman from Korea, and she grew up foraging and growing her own food as a matter of survival. Because her family was extremely poor, she needed to know all the plants she could eat because they were free. When she came over to this country with my father, it was a natural thing for her to carry over. She was surprised to find a lot of plants here that were similar to the ones she grew up with\u2014amaranth, dandelion, goldenrod, lamb\u2019s quarter, Solomon\u2019s seal, tickweed\u2014and she incorporated them into our diet.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Linda<\/a>

Linda and Luke Black Elk (Photo courtesy of Linda Black Elk)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

\n

In my family on both sides, we always considered plants as food and medicine. For example, if I had a sore throat, my mom would make me ginger and lemon tea with honey. I\u2019ve never had a single year when I haven\u2019t had a garden, even if that was a container garden. I grew up with a lot of really amazing fresh food that was both grown and harvested, and all of that family history led me to study plants in school.<\/p>\n

Why is traditional\u00a0ecological knowledge so important as it\u00a0relates to both food sovereignty and climate\u00a0change?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Let\u2019s back up a bit. Everyone talks about decolonizing, but what does that even mean? In terms of food sovereignty<\/a>, we\u2019re talking about getting back to the foods of our ancestors. Unfortunately, our entire food system is determined by colonization, and our palates have also been colonized, largely by salt and sugar\u2014so we believe that everything we eat needs to be salty or sweet. Our palates have forgotten how wonderful and healthful flavors like pungent and bitter can be.<\/p>\n

“The fact is that our current food system pours herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides on so much of our food.” <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

For example, my husband\u2019s people are Lakota, and during the cold winter months when there aren\u2019t any bitter greens to eat, they would traditionally get bitter compounds from various parts of the buffalo<\/a>. So they would dip pieces of meat in the bitter bile of the buffalo\u2019s gallbladder. Similarly, one of my Ojibwe friends told me that during the winter, they would dip pieces of fish in the fish bile then eat it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s that kind of knowledge of the people who came before us\u2014about not only what is good to eat but what keeps us going physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually\u2014that is going to lead us into the future of food sovereignty. Traditional ecological knowledge<\/a> is different from Western ecological knowledge in that it includes and understands the importance of culture and spirituality.<\/p>\n

For instance, why is fry bread<\/a> so popular as an Indigenous food? It\u2019s not just that our palates now love gluten and sugary, salty foods. It\u2019s also that people have watched their grandma make fry bread, so there\u2019s this emotional and spiritual connection to that food. We need to rebuild those connections with our traditional foods, those really visceral memories of processing wild rice<\/a> and cutting up bison meat to hang and dry. I have beautiful memories of making kimchi, a traditional Korean food, with my mom.<\/p>\n

\"Linda<\/a>

Linda Black Elk (third from left) and others butcher a bison. (Photo courtesy of Linda Black Elk)<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

The fact is that our current food system pours herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides on so much of our food. Our meat is laced with all kinds of hormones and antibiotics. Not to mention that industrial agriculture is hugely destructive to the environment<\/a>. In order for us to move away from that, we have to get back to foods that love growing here, foods that we have a long-term relationship with.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re trying to grow crops that would love tons of precipitation that we just don\u2019t have. We\u2019ve also destroyed our topsoil, so we now have to put minerals and other nutrients back into the soil. It\u2019s just hugely destructive and contributes to climate change<\/a>. So if we get back to traditional foods through traditional ecological knowledge, we won\u2019t have the full-scale destruction brought on by industrial agriculture.<\/p>\n

Our consumption culture really contributes to climate change as well. When you build a relationship with the natural world, you start to realize that plants and animals are beings that have more value than just their monetary value. You start being more careful about how you move through the world and how you walk on the land. When you have a relationship with plants and animals, you\u2019re a lot less likely to use and abuse these gifts. Instead, you\u2019re going to make sure they\u2019re well taken care of for future generations.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

“We\u2019ve got to change our diets so we can break that vicious cycle of a poor diet leading to poor health, which then leads to higher risk factors.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

How can we improve our\u00a0relationship with plants, animals, and the natural environment around us?<\/strong><\/p>\n

On an individual level, it is about getting out there, introducing yourself to the natural world, and being willing to speak and listen. Plants do communicate with us if we take our time and approach them in a respectful way. For example, one spring day I noticed chickweed had started randomly growing right outside my kitchen door, which seemed so strange because it had never grown there before. Then I found out I had a thyroid issue. Chickweed has historically been used for thyroid regulation<\/a>, so I realized that plant was communicating with me, being like, \u201cHere I am. You need me.\u201d<\/p>\n

I do think plants come to us when we need them. But if you don\u2019t recognize that plant, you might not know that it\u2019s trying to communicate with you. I always recommend starting with dandelions and learning about their place in the world, since everyone knows what a dandelion looks like. They are a gateway plant, because they\u2019ve been so vilified by Western culture yet they are an amazing food and medicine. Building these relationships opens us up to listening to the world around us instead of just constantly thinking about consumption.<\/p>\n

Can you explain how you see foraging as an act of resistance? <\/strong><\/p>\n

In this society, food and medicine are expensive and inaccessible for a massive portion of the population. We are purposefully kept ignorant about and in fear of plant foods and medicines; we are indoctrinated into this idea that they are somehow dangerous or inferior.<\/p>\n

But why? Why is a round crunchy ball of water in the form of iceberg lettuce somehow better than dandelion leaves? It certainly is not more healthful, but we have this perception that it is somehow better. We have to resist by questioning these assumptions about so-called \u201cwild\u201d foods. Even the word \u201cwild\u201d has certain connotations and can bring up images of danger in people\u2019s minds. So it is an act of resistance to stand against that indoctrination and decolonize our palates.<\/p>\n

Nothing exemplifies this better than the pandemic<\/a>. What did we find out were some of the major risk factors for COVID complications? Diabetes, heart disease, and asthma. We were seeing all these elders and knowledge keepers dying from COVID and complications that were exacerbated by these health issues that are very much associated with diet and air quality. How are we going to prevent this from happening again in the future? We\u2019ve got to change our diets so we can break that vicious cycle of a poor diet leading to poor health, which then leads to higher risk factors.<\/p>\n

In March 2020, our family came up with a grassroots project to feed people. We were seeing these food kits being sent out with bags of flour, sugar, potatoes, white rice, and powdered milk\u2014basically commodities that were exactly what was exacerbating the problem. So, we decided to make food and medicine kits with traditional Indigenous ingredients and organic, shelf-stable items.<\/p>\n

They contained items like hand-harvested wild rice from Dynamite Hill Farms<\/a>, corn grown by Oneida farmer Dan Cornelius<\/a>, tepary beans from Ramona Farms<\/a>, Tanka Bars<\/a>, real maple syrup, freeze-dried vegetable mixes, bone broth, and amazing medicines like fire cider and elderberry elixir. We put out a call on social media, and people rallied, sending supplies and donating money so we could support these incredible Indigenous producers.<\/p>\n

Our coverage area included North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, and even Missouri. My husband and I would drive all over in our minivan delivering these kits and also picking up supplies to cut down on shipping costs. So far, we have sent out more than 3,000 kits, and we\u2019re still doing it today. It is really just about showing our kids that individuals can make a difference.<\/p>\n

From your perspective, what will it take for our food systems to be resilient once again?<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have to build community. We do that by building each other up instead of tearing each other down. When we build community, we know who has the seeds. We know how to plant those seeds, because we have learned from our community members and they\u2019ve learned from us.<\/p>\n

Under our current food system, if a blight comes and affects [the main] variety of corn, we would have no corn and there would be millions of starving people. But when we build a community of growers who are growing 500 different varieties of corn, if a blight comes and takes out one variety, we still have 499 varieties to rely on. That\u2019s what resiliency is\u2014it\u2019s about working together to make sure that no one thing can tear us down.<\/p>\n

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/div><\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A version of this article originally appeared in The Deep Dish, our members-only newsletter.\u00a0Become a member today\u00a0and get the next issue directly in your inbox. After overseeing the food sovereignty program at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota, Black Elk recently became the education director for Oglala Lakota chef Sean Sherman\u2019s Minneapolis-based nonprofit,\u00a0North […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1312,"featured_media":55121,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[485,6920,521,3264],"tags":[],"coauthors":[43471],"class_list":["post-55119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-food-access","category-indigenous-foodways","category-local-food","category-nutrition"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nIndigenous Forager Linda Black Elk Says We Should Listen to Plants | Civil Eats<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Indigenous ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist talks about decolonizing our palates, foraging as an act of resistance, and developing closer relationships with dandelions.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Linda Black Elk Says Listen to Plants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Indigenous ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist talks about decolonizing our palates, foraging as an act of resistance, and developing closer relationships with dandelions.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Civil Eats\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-02-06T09:00:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-02-06T20:18:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Kate Nelson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Linda Black Elk Says Listen to Plants\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:image\" content=\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/X-Hed-thumbnail-4.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Kateisms\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CivilEats\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Kate Nelson\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Kate Nelson\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/54d6a40b414b0f9a26f495c27e189e62\"},\"headline\":\"Listen to Plants, Says Indigenous Forager and Activist Linda Black Elk\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-06T09:00:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-06T20:18:56+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/\"},\"wordCount\":2090,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Food Access\",\"Indigenous Foodways\",\"Local Food\",\"Nutrition\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/\",\"name\":\"Indigenous Forager Linda Black Elk Says We Should Listen to Plants | Civil Eats\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-02-06T09:00:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-02-06T20:18:56+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Indigenous ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist talks about decolonizing our palates, foraging as an act of resistance, and developing closer relationships with dandelions.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Linda Black Elk (Photo courtesy of NATIFS)\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Listen to Plants, Says Indigenous Forager and Activist Linda Black Elk\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\",\"name\":\"Civil Eats\",\"description\":\"Daily News and Commentary About the American Food System\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Civil Eats\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":455,\"caption\":\"Civil Eats\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/CivilEats\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/civileats\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/54d6a40b414b0f9a26f495c27e189e62\",\"name\":\"Kate Nelson\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/345158f8bb102310d952560c069452f8\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Kate-Nelson-pic-150x150.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Kate-Nelson-pic-150x150.jpeg\",\"caption\":\"Kate Nelson\"},\"description\":\"An Alaska Native Tlingit tribal member, Nelson is an award-winning writer and editor living in Minneapolis. She's the former editor-in-chief of Artful Living, a top U.S. boutique lifestyle magazine. She's interviewed such luminaries as Padma Lakshmi, chef Sean Sherman, and \\\"Reservation Dogs\\\" creator Sterlin Harjo and written for publications including ELLE, Esquire, Vanity Fair, National Geographic, the BBC, the Guardian, Teen Vogue, and more.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.kateanelson.com\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Kateisms\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/civileats.com\/author\/knelson\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Indigenous Forager Linda Black Elk Says We Should Listen to Plants | Civil Eats","description":"The Indigenous ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist talks about decolonizing our palates, foraging as an act of resistance, and developing closer relationships with dandelions.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Linda Black Elk Says Listen to Plants","og_description":"The Indigenous ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist talks about decolonizing our palates, foraging as an act of resistance, and developing closer relationships with dandelions.","og_url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/","og_site_name":"Civil Eats","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637","article_published_time":"2024-02-06T09:00:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-02-06T20:18:56+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":800,"url":"http:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Kate Nelson","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Linda Black Elk Says Listen to Plants","twitter_image":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/X-Hed-thumbnail-4.png","twitter_creator":"@Kateisms","twitter_site":"@CivilEats","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kate Nelson","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/"},"author":{"name":"Kate Nelson","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/54d6a40b414b0f9a26f495c27e189e62"},"headline":"Listen to Plants, Says Indigenous Forager and Activist Linda Black Elk","datePublished":"2024-02-06T09:00:16+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-06T20:18:56+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/"},"wordCount":2090,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg","articleSection":["Food Access","Indigenous Foodways","Local Food","Nutrition"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/","name":"Indigenous Forager Linda Black Elk Says We Should Listen to Plants | Civil Eats","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg","datePublished":"2024-02-06T09:00:16+00:00","dateModified":"2024-02-06T20:18:56+00:00","description":"The Indigenous ethnobotanist and food sovereignty activist talks about decolonizing our palates, foraging as an act of resistance, and developing closer relationships with dandelions.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/20240130-how-listening-plant-relatives-helps-build-resilient-food-systems-Linda-Black-Elk-NATIFS-2.jpg","width":1200,"height":800,"caption":"Linda Black Elk (Photo courtesy of NATIFS)"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/2024\/02\/06\/listen-to-plants-says-indigenous-forager-and-activist-linda-black-elk\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Listen to Plants, Says Indigenous Forager and Activist Linda Black Elk"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/","name":"Civil Eats","description":"Daily News and Commentary About the American Food System","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#organization","name":"Civil Eats","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/logo.png","width":800,"height":455,"caption":"Civil Eats"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/pages\/Civil-Eats\/56766540637","https:\/\/x.com\/CivilEats","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/civileats\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/54d6a40b414b0f9a26f495c27e189e62","name":"Kate Nelson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/345158f8bb102310d952560c069452f8","url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Kate-Nelson-pic-150x150.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Kate-Nelson-pic-150x150.jpeg","caption":"Kate Nelson"},"description":"An Alaska Native Tlingit tribal member, Nelson is an award-winning writer and editor living in Minneapolis. She's the former editor-in-chief of Artful Living, a top U.S. boutique lifestyle magazine. She's interviewed such luminaries as Padma Lakshmi, chef Sean Sherman, and \"Reservation Dogs\" creator Sterlin Harjo and written for publications including ELLE, Esquire, Vanity Fair, National Geographic, the BBC, the Guardian, Teen Vogue, and more.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.kateanelson.com\/","https:\/\/x.com\/Kateisms"],"url":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/author\/knelson\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1312"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55119"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55222,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55119\/revisions\/55222"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55121"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55119"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/civileats.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=55119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}