She woke me up early in the morning. In the kitchen, a breakfast of oatmeal was ready for my school-bound brothers and sisters. She grabbed her basket and we went into the woods. I was a little olderthan five. My father had rented a farm house in the country and left for months at a time as truck driver. Mother would finds greens, roots, food, and medicine for the seven children under her care. It was a great education to learn how to harvest edible plants andmedicines from the Creator’s pantry. At least that’show Mother said it.

We didn’t have much at all, but we stayed alive and seldom were ill. Mother always had food on the table. Even today when people talk about dandelions as weeds, my mind escapes the conversation to the days when we picked them for food. When I eat beets or other root vegetables, I remember my Mother teaching us how the Creator buried them for us so that all year ’round we would have nourishment.

In our modern times we think we have a more advanced and delicious diet. The truth is that diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are rampant. The processed foods we consume make us crave more. As the Creator’s chosen people, with whom He trusted care of the earth, we have allowed ourselves to trade comfort and another man’s culture for the Creator’s original diet for us.

Many Nations are now returning to gardening and teaching their youth to go into the woods and fields for the food and medicine-rich stores of our Creator. We hope this issue of American Indian Living brings a rich smile to the Elders who rememberthe teachings and old ways of our people, and inspires our youth with a return to nutrition and health.

May our sovereign and loving Creator be with you as you read this important issue,and enrich you with wisdom and health.

The above excerpt is from a recent issue of American Indian Living. The full article can be found here.