Task force works to reclaim Indigenous traditions

Suzanne Nash wants Indigenous youth to reclaim an understanding about the ways tobacco has been used in their community’s cultural and religious practices.

“Our gift from God the creator was traditional tobacco,” Nash said.

Nash sits on the Indigenous People’s Task Force in Minneapolis, a community group focused on “restoring our cultural practices and using those cultural teachings as our teachings, as prevention around the work we do.”

The use of traditional tobacco is important to Indigenous people for many reasons. Medicinal tobacco has long been used for physical and emotional well-being, according to the National Native Network, a tribal organization.

Many people view tobacco as a commercial product — such as cigarettes or cigars — but rarely as a spiritual product, said Nash, the task force’s tobacco programs manager. Nash hopes that by “returning back to using traditional tobacco the way it was intended,” drug use could be curbed since tobacco is thought to be a gateway drug to harder substances.

Nash has lost people to addiction and lung cancer related to tobacco use.

“It makes you angry,” Nash said.

Native Americans use commercial tobacco at higher rates than other BIPOC communities. In Minnesota, for instance, 59% of Native Americans smoke commercial tobacco, compared with 14.5% of the adult population, according to the Minnesota Department of Health.

In response, the task force hopes to help Indigenous communities better understand the ways tobacco has been used traditionally, such as in ceremonial purposes, offerings and prayers.

Nash likened the use of tobacco in prayer to Christian traditions, such as the Catholic church’s use of holy water.

“We offer it to the creator, to send that message. And that’s our gift,” Nash said.

Nash said Indigenous communities stopped using tobacco culturally because of pressure on Indigenous people to assimilate into the broader society.

Growing tobacco is also culturally important to native communities. That’s why task force members plant tobacco and water it as a thank you gift to the Earth. “We thank the water spirits and say, ‘Thank you for that gift of water,’ ” Nash said.

Nicole Christian is the farm site manager for another of the task force’s initiatives, the Indigi-Baby and Food Sovereignty Program. It produces sustainable baby food for Native American communities with ingredients, like wild rice, which are sustainably grown. Indigi-Baby is often found at food shelves, so it’s accessible for low-income families.

Christian hopes that she’ll be able to teach her community techniques that will help them grow tobacco themselves. But it’s a process that has been made more difficult due to climate change.

Despite strong community support, the task force’s farm has struggled to keep its crops alive because of unstable weather conditions. “A lot of challenges have been the weather,” she said. “That, I’m sure, will continue as we go forward.”

Yet Christian is motivated to continue farming tobacco and growing other crops for the sake of her community.

Ultimately, the task force’s goal is to foster Indigenous traditions in a world where companies — such as those that sell cigarettes and other tobacco products — prioritize revenue.

“I want them to know how much we care,” Christian said, “the youth are our future.”

Additional reporting for this story was done by Legend Primus and Ethan Vang.