05/07/2026
Our youth continue to prove that Indigenous knowledge matters.
Sky Pete, Shoshone & Paiute, first began studying the power of chokecherries while she was still in high school. Her research showed that traditional chokecherry preparation had the ability to inhibit uterine cancer cells during laboratory testing.
Now she has graduated from the University of Idaho with a B.S. in Ecology and Conservation Biology.
What an incredible reminder that our traditional foods are more than just food. They carry knowledge, healing, science, and generations of wisdom from our ancestors.
Our young people are reconnecting culture with education, tradition with science, and bringing attention back to the healthy foods our people once depended on every day.
Maybe it is time we begin stepping away from so much processed food, fast food, and sugary drinks that continue hurting our communities. Maybe it is time to start bringing more traditional foods back into our homes, our ceremonies, and our lives.
Buffalo.
Chokecherries.
Wild berries.
Traditional teas.
Vegetables.
Fruits.
Foods from our land.
Our ancestors survived because of these foods. Our future generations can grow stronger because of them too.
Huge congratulations to Sky Pete and to all Native youth using education to uplift our people and preserve our traditional knowledge for future generations.
