Community Food Projects at Mukayuhsak Weekuw

Mukayuhsak Weekuw 2016-17 staff.jpg

Members of the Children's House teaching and nutrition team presented an hour and a half long storytelling workshop at the national Community Food Systems Conference held at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel in December. Focused on exploring the intersection of food security, social justice, and sustainable agriculture, and drawing hundreds of attendees, the event was keynoted by Winona LaDuke from the White Earth Nation of Ojibwe in northern Minnesota. 

Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project teachers Tia Pocknett and Melanie Roderick, and nurse/nutritionist Jen Harding Mckeithan delivered an in-depth exploration of the Mukayuhsak Weekuw year-round culture based curriculum and related food projects, including vermi-composting snack and lunch waste, planting and harvesting, fishing and shellfishing, and role of tribal families in teaching tribal youth about Wampanoag traditions practiced for thousands of years in the diverse ecosystems found throughout Wampanoag homelands. The team enjoyed the opportunity to share their work and stories from the language nest with fellow presenters and educators from across the U.S.