Indigeneity & Veganism

by Naomi Pigeon 

This is a simple informational pamphlet on how switching to a vegan lifestyle can help many Native American people respect Mother Earth’s creations more and live a more traditional lifestyle. Not only would it help the animals that walk besides us on this Earth, but it would help to repair the human animals health too. Repair the health that has been broken by a westernized diet of white four, white sugar, fast food, and so on. Throughout the pamphlet there will even be some cases where it would cause people to revert into even more traditional ways, such as being able to eat a more truly traditional diet of food that would be natural to area we live in. Being able to eat a truly traditional diet, which would mean no dairy and little to no meat has shown to reduce complications due to diabetes and even prevent it. I wanted this pamphlet to be short and easy to read. I also wanted this to be something that would cause more people to research and self reflect on their lifestyle choices. This pamphlet is geared more towards Native Americans but, I wanted it to be something that anyone, Native American and non, would be able to apply to themselves. 

See Pamphlet

Why did I want to write and create this short pamphlet on this issue? As a Native American person, an animal lover, and the daughter of a nurse, I have seen the impact of diabetes on the Native American community. I have seen my grandfather have limbs removed due to diabetes from living off of government commodities,which is meat and dairy heavy. I have seen my aunts and mother be borderline diabetic and switch to a plant based diet and be removed from medications and no longer be at risk of diabetes.As an animal lover, I love learning about new ways to no longer support an industry that profits off of the death of literal babies, I do not wish for my money that I work for to go towards the dead flesh of other animals, I hate knowing people that work in animal factories will rub chili and tobacco in the eyes of exhausted and collapsed animals to get them to walk to their deaths. I am disheartened by the many other tragedies that are inflicted upon animals and the tragedies that continue to go on in animal slaughterhouses.I am disgusted as a Native American woman that was raised being taught and told to respect animals and that the animals and the environment around us is all our family and this is how we have decided treat them? I could never imagine treating someone who is the equivalent of my mother, brother, sister, uncle, and so on the way animals are continued to be treated by human animals today. 

That is why the goal of this project for me, personally, was to raise the respect we once had for animals back to where it was. I wanted a quick and easy way to show people simple ways to do just that. For me it does not have to be all at once, but I want people to just try and show that respect we have lost for our relatives. I wanted a quick way to help humans and other animals to heal from the tragedies that have been going on. Animals die and are tortured in these slaughterhouses and not allowed to live their lives as they should. For me this is comparable to the boarding schools Native Americans were tortured in, died in, and where much of our culture and way of life was lost. Which is where some of the inspiration came from for this project. I was drawing parallels between what happened to Native Americans at the hands of other humans and what is happening to animals at the hands of other animals. I would like to see no more animals used (or at the very least a reduction that would move to the elimination) of anymore animals used for our regalia, our foods, and so on. I really would love and wish to see more Native American vegans and vegetarians, or even switching to a plant based diet a couple days out of the week. I would love to see more Native Americans no longer supporting the industry that tortures our relatives. 
 
Author Bio: Naomi is a student at Minnesota State University, Mankato majoring in political science with a minor in sociology. She enjoys bringing light to issues in Indian Country by raising awareness through education and activism. A lover of traveling, her culture, animals and the environment. She has been invited to speak and share her culture in Hawaii, New Zealand, and many colleges and schools throughout the United States and has gave impromptu lessons on dakota culture and their connection to animals and the land at the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian and aided in creating a new course on Dakota culture at South Central College.