Nagi Kicopi: Revitalizing health through traditions
Ryia LeBeau, a graduating senior of Cheyenne River Eagle Butte High School, was inspired to do a project she called "Nagi Kicopi: Revitalizing Health through Tradition" after attending a seminar on food sovereignty, where she "realized that food is much more than nourishment for our bodies; our food is Medicine." Ryia wanted to see the overall wellbeing (mind, body and soul) of the people improved. She also wanted to see some food sovereignty and sustainability in our communities. The Project was funded by Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Health Board through Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe. Funding was allocated for Community Action Plans to promote health at the local level and address local needs. Missouri Breaks partnered with Ryia LeBeau to make this possible. Missouri Breaks also distributed hundreds of flyers, posters, recipe cards, social media advertisements and educational material and two newspaper articles on traditional healthy food.
Ryia and her family prepared and served 150 meals, and over 50 samples of nutritional traditional foods at the Eagle Butte Wacipi and Pow-wow on September 3, 2016; 140 surveys regarding healthy traditional food were completed. Ryia hopes to see local vendors and stores carrying more of the healthy traditional food that sustained the Native Americans for centuries. The project started in August 2016 and ended with conversations with food vendors about selling healthy traditional foods.
Study Documents: All items containing study results have undergone review and approval from the participating Tribe(s) and Great Plains IRB.
