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LONG FACED HEALTH DISPARITIES. THE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF AMERICAN INDIANS AND ALASKA NATIVES IS 11 YEARS SHORTER THAN THE COUNTRY’S AVERAGE 65 YEARS, COMPARED TO 76. RESEARCHERS SAY FOOD IS A CONTRIBUTING FACTOR. MANY TRIBES RELY ON GOVERNMENT RATIONED FOOD, WHICH IS OFTEN HIGHLY PROCESSED. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY ROBERT F KENNEDY HAS SAID THE ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS ARE IN HIS WORD, A GENOCIDE ON NATIVE AMERICANS. BUT THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION CUT THE PROGRAM THAT GETS TRIBAL COMMUNITIES FRESH, LOCAL FOODS IN WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT JOEY CHEN FOUND ONE TRIBE TAKING THE LEAD ON SAVING THEIR TRADITIONAL FOODS AND THEIR WAY OF LIFE. IN THE DARK SOIL OF THE FOUR SISTERS GARDEN, FIMBREZ PLANTS A MESSAGE TO HER ANCESTORS. MORAGA ECO. I WANT MY CHILDREN TO KNOW YOU. FIMBREZ CARRIES ON A FARMING TRADITION THAT DATES BACK HUNDREDS OF YEARS. THE SAHNISH PEOPLE OF THE MANDAN, HIDATSA, ARIKARA NATION BEGAN TO SETTLE ALONG THE KNIFE RIVER MORE THAN A THOUSAND YEARS AGO. RANGER DARIAN KATH TAKES US ON A TOUR OF A RECREATED EARTH LODGE. THIS IS THE TRADITIONAL DWELLING OF THE TRIBE THAT LIVED HERE. KATH POINTS TO THE TRIBE’S RESOURCEFULNESS AND THE VALUE THEY PLACED ON THEIR HARVESTS, PRESERVING CORN AND CROPS IN CAREFULLY DESIGNED UNDERGROUND CACHE PITS. THAT WAS A CORNERSTONE OF THE CULTURE STILL IS TODAY. SO MUCH SO THAT THE SEEDS OF THE TRIBE’S TRADITIONAL CROPS, HANDED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS, ARE NOW KEPT UNDER LOCK AND KEY. IT BELONGED IN A SAFE. YES, YES. DOCTOR RUTH DELA CRUZ TEACHES AT THE NUETA HIDATSA SAHNISH TRIBAL COLLEGE, WHERE A NEW EFFORT TO RETURN THE TRIBE TO ITS TRADITIONAL FOODS IS TAKING ROOT. SOME OF THESE VARIETIES HAVEN’T BEEN CONSUMED BY OUR PEOPLE IN OVER A HUNDRED YEARS. THAT’S CHANGING NOW, THANKS TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF TRIBAL ELDERS AND EDUCATORS LIKE BERNIE YOUNGBERG CHEZ. THE MOUNDS. IT’S RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOUR CORN MOUNDS. EVEN AT THE END OF SPRING IN NORTH DAKOTA, FROST IS STILL A RISK. FLOODING TO TRADITIONAL GARDENERS USED DOMED MOUNDS AND GROUPED THE THREE SISTERS CORN, BEANS, AND SQUASH TO PROTECT THEIR CROPS. NOW USING THE SAME ANCIENT TECHNIQUES, A NEW GENERATION IS PLANTING TO SECURE THE COMMUNITY’S HEALTHY FUTURE. THIS IS A TRADITIONAL SEED. JUST FINDING FRESH FOOD HERE HAS LONG BEEN A CHALLENGE. THE FORT BERTHOLD RESERVATION ENCOMPASSES NEARLY A MILLION ACRES, WITH ONLY ONE SUPERMARKET. FACED WITH A VAST FOOD, DESERT, GARDENERS ARE PLANTING THE REVIVED SEEDS ACROSS THE RESERVATION IN A PROJECT THAT ALSO AIMS TO FEED THE SOUL OF THE COMMUNITY. THEY ALL HAVE A TIE TO US AS A RELATIVE, AND SO WHEN WE TAKE CARE OF THEM, BECAUSE THEY TAKE CARE OF US. FOLLOWING AN OLD ADAGE ABOUT THE POWER OF CHEZ, WHO HOLDS THE SPOON, IT’S WOMEN AND GIRLS WHO LEAD THE GARDEN WORK, AND THE WOMEN ARE THE ONES DISHING OUT THE FOOD. YOU DECIDE WHO GETS FED FIRST AND YOU KNOW WHO GETS FED LAST. OR IF THERE ISN’T ENOUGH, WHO YOU KNOW GOES HUNGRY. THAT’S A REALLY POWERFUL ROLE. TODAY, THEY MAINTAIN A COMPLEX RELATIONSHIP WITH FEDERAL AGENCIES TO REDEVELOP THEIR SEED STOCK IN A CAMPAIGN FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. I THINK ABOUT, YOU KNOW, HOW MANY OF OUR GENERATIONS ENDED UP BEING TAKEN OUT OF OUR COMMUNITIES TO BOARDING SCHOOLS AND SIMILARLY, OUR SEEDS HAD LEFT OUR COMMUNITIES. THEY LEFT OUR COMMUNITIES. AND SO NOW WE’RE BRINGING OUR RELATIVES HOME AND PLANTING A FUTURE FROM THE SEEDS OF THEIR PAST. ON THE FORT BERTHOLD RESERVATION IN NORTH DAKOT