DOWH introduction

Dream of Wild Health DOWH is a non-profit that promotes health in the Native community by expanding knowledge of, and access to, healthy indigenous foods and medicines.

Our group has had the pleasure, as outsiders, to be welcomed into the organization with a goal of understanding and helping promote food justice alongside the youth at DOWH. 

Food justice is communities exercising their right to grow, sell, and eat healthy food.  This food that they choose is also very nutritious, affordable, and culturally appropriate which is grown locally. In the case of DOWH it is grown and sold at a 10-acre farm in Hugo, MN. What is food justice?

At our meetings with the staff and youth we were given the opportunity to be welcomed as guests and try some of the different foods that they are trying to promote.  They insisted that as guests that we should be the first ones to eat, so as not to be rude we went first.  We were given a wide array of healthy, fresh foods, handmade by the nutritionist at DOWH.  It was amazing to see the youth not only share their knowledge of food justice but actually choose the healthy foods. 

Although we are still learning and getting to know the staff and youth at DOWH, we find that the staff leaves decision making to the youth.  The youth are talking about the fact that they choose food justice and to eat healthy and the decisions they make are their own.  The following video is an introduction into the youth at DOWH.