Who We Are

What do we stand for?

We stand for respect, honesty, and care for all relations. We honor the rights of nature, the sacredness of women, and the responsibility of feeding future generations.

Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ (“All My Relations”) — We see no separation between people, plants, animals, and land. - Oceti Sakowin

What need are we trying to address?

Too many families in Lincoln struggle with food insecurity, limited access to traditional knowledge, and barriers to equitable healthcare and education. We are here to restore balance by uplifting Indigenous foodways—ways of growing, sharing, and nourishing that honor Earth and community.

Máⁿgąxúbe (to nourish, feed well) — Our work begins with nourishment of body, spirit, and community. - Ponca Teaching

What sets us apart?

We are Indigenous-led and rooted in ancestral teachings. We ground every decision in respect for the land, women, and community consensus. Our approach blends traditional food systems with modern mutual aid to meet immediate needs while growing long-term healing and while promoting cultural revitalization.

kítahkasa (together) — We rise together, guided by community values. - Pawnee Teaching

Why is a women-led and women-only board important?

In Indigenous teachings, women carry life, water, and the seeds of future generations. A women-led structure restores balance in a society shaped by patriarchy and violence. By centering women’s leadership, we honor our ancestors and create spaces of healing, protection, and renewal for all.

Kunhã karai (sacred women, spiritual leaders) — Our women’s council ensures wisdom, balance, and continuity. - Tupinambá Teaching

Vision :
To nourish people and strengthen community ties through the Indigenous ways of growing, preparing, and sharing food, honoring the land, our ancestors, and future generations.

Why is that statement our Vision?

Food is not only survival—it is ceremony, medicine, and relationship. Every seed carries memory, every meal is an offering, and every act of sharing is a prayer for balance. We return to these teachings to heal both people and land, remembering that we are never separate from the soil, the waters, or each other.

To live our foodways is to practice sovereignty. Across the world, Indigenous peoples face the same struggles of colonization, hunger, and erasure—yet each time we plant corn, harvest medicines, or gather for a meal, we are resisting those systems. This resistance is also joy: joy in tasting ancestral flavors, joy in teaching children the songs of the land, joy in knowing that Earth remembers us as we remember Her. Guided by the strength of women and the wisdom of our ancestors, our vision is to live well—teko porã—and to create a future rooted in balance, courage, and kinship with all our relations.

Teachings We Embody at Indigenous Foodways

Ponca

Máⁿgąxúbe — to nourish deeply; true nourishment includes body, spirit, and community.
Gardens are places of kinship where all relations are cared for.

Pawnee

Corn is sacred and carries the story of the people; planting corn is planting the future.
Kítahkasa — togetherness; community strength comes from working side by side.

Oceti Sakowin (Lakota/Dakota/Nakota)

Mitákuye Oyás’iŋ — “All My Relations”; no separation exists between people, land, plants, and animals.
The sacred hoop teaches that healing comes when balance is restored for the whole community.

Tupinambá (Brasil)

Teko porã — to live well, in balance, honoring land and ancestors.
Kunhã karai — sacred women; women carry the seeds, water, and wisdom for future generations.

Hopi

“Corn is our mother”; planting and tending gardens is an act of prayer and protection.
Patience and care in cultivation are lessons for living in harmony with creation.

Haudenosaunee (Iroquois Confederacy)

The “Three Sisters” (corn, beans, squash) teach cooperation—each plant protects and supports the others.
The Great Law of Peace reminds us that leadership and community decisions must consider the next seven generations.

Maya

In Lak’ech — “I am you, and you are me”; mutual aid is not charity but reciprocity.
The milpa (traditional intercropped field) is a living school of balance and abundance.

Andean (Quechua / Aymara)

Ayni — sacred reciprocity; giving and receiving are part of the same cycle.
Potatoes, like people, thrive in diversity and resilience when cared for collectively.

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