OMAHA — It was not a walk that participants in the annual Indigenous Peoples Summit wanted to take on an 86-degree afternoon.
But they did — on principle, and to underscore a key reason that brought some 125 leaders of tribal governments, Indigenous groups and others together in the first place: a quest to reclaim cultural power and traditions.
What pushed conferees on Friday to walk the quarter-mile from a University of Nebraska at Omaha auditorium to Elmwood Park for lunch — many in jingle dresses and other traditional regalia — was that they were not permitted to bring food from a preferred culturally-sensitive caterer onto UNO grounds.
UNO has an exclusive contract with Sodexo, a global food services company. Efforts by summit organizers to find a work-around were rejected, so they took their lunch hour off campus.
“We were put into a place where we would have had to compromise our dignity and traditions,” Sheelah Bearfoot of the Chiricahau Apache Nation told the Nebraska Examiner.
Choosing to walk to the park was inconvenient, particularly for the elders who were offered rides. But Bearfoot, an environmental justice advocate, and other planners of the event said there was more at stake than lunch.
Friday’s gathering was about empowerment, rebuilding Native Nations, reaching economic sovereignty, climate justice, sacred sites and traditional ecological knowledge.
The group sought to strengthen partnerships, create opportunities, to learn and to share successes. Expert speakers represented an array of tribes and academia from as far away as Zimbabwe, where Aya Khourshid, a climate and social researcher joined virtually to talk about rethinking economies.
After morning workshops, waiting for the group at the Elmwood Park pavilion was a colorful spread prepared by Anthony Warrior, a Nebraska-based chef specializing in Indigenous-inspired cuisine, including braised bison with Umoⁿhoⁿ Nation corn medley, white earth wind rice and patty pan squash.
The group walked back to UNO’s Milo Bail Student Center for afternoon programs.
Speakers included State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, who welcomed the group to his district and offered to help with legislative efforts, and State Sen. Terrell McKinney of North Omaha, who has battled for Native American issues including a law that protects public school students from discrimination based on cultural hairstyles, tribal regalia and headdress and funding for a Chief Standing Bear museum.
McKinney, in response to a question on how to craft state policy, said that any legislative initiative should keep top of mind the “core of who you are.”
“But be as creative, as bold as you can be … no solution is too far,” McKinney said.
During the same panel on economic sovereignty, Luis Marcos, co-founder of Comunidad Maya Pixim, noted the significance of the luncheon dilemma.
He said Indigenous and tribal governments want to be respected and treated as sovereign nations.
Victoria Kohout, chief of external relations for UNO, said Sodexo is the exclusive caterer for all main campus buildings except the Thompson Alumni Center. She said it’s a setup that’s common practice for universities.
“When will this stop?” Marcos said, amplifying his voice to conferees. He referred to an earlier conference discussion that delved into ways to rebuild sovereignty and authority stolen from Indigenous people.
“When will we be recognized as sovereign nations?”
Missty Slater, chief of staff for the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, said it’s unlikely anyone will be able to “codify culture” or make culture a law or a business.
But she said leaders can “push the needle” to incorporate more cultural values into policy. Band together and shun industries and businesses causing harm to Native communities and goals, she said. “Hurt their bottom dollar.”
For Indigenous people, Slater said, money is more of a “medium goal.” The larger goal of economic development is creating a positive impact on a collective community.
Panelist Perry Worden of Bridgepoint Investment Banking, who also is vice president of Comunidad Maya Pixan Ixim, told the summit that Nebraska-based Ho-Chunk Inc. has become a national model for self-empowerment.
Ho-Chunk Inc., for example, has WarHorse Casino, farmland, housing, and companies that manufacture and distribute Native American tobacco products.
The ancestral name for the Winnebago Tribe is Hochungra, often truncated as Ho-Chunk. Worden said the tribe’s holding company ventures have been able to help create generational wealth, which leads to economic independence.
Friday’s summit continued an annual gathering of pan-Indigenous communities. Last year’s event took place over two days in various Omaha area locations including a sacred water ceremony on the banks of the Missouri River.
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