Food
A wise person once said - "You are what you eat". The Indigenous peoples state that growing, preparing, and consuming food is a sacred activity and should be approached with great respect. To consume something is to literally merge its life force with your own life force. Food contains spiritual energy that can be enhanced by respect, prayer, and loving attention. Food that is grown and prepared with care and love helps balance and strengthen the physical and spiritual aspects of the body.
The Four Winds Model for Healthy Eating
By Kibbe Conti, RD, CDE, LN
The Medicine Wheel is a sacred symbol used by Plains tribes and others. It is a symbol with numerous symbolic teachings related to balance in all natural systems. Its universal knowledge is looked to by many who seek healing, wisdom and direction. In a time when unbalanced eating has lead to so many chronic health conditions such as diabetes and obesity it seemed appropriate to look to the medicine wheel for direction in the area of nutrition. In working in partnership with knowledgeable elders, nutrition educators can facilitate the development of culturally based nutrition models. Bob Chasing Hawk of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe was an especially knowledgeable elder whom I consulted with in the development of the Four Winds Model.
The model begins with the West Wind. The western sky brings the thunderclouds and the life giving rains. Traditionally all our drinks were water based. Today the West Wind is represented on the model by sugar-free, alcohol-free drinks.
The North Wind is represented by the strength and endurance of the Buffalo. Buffalo and large game were plentiful and always lean. Today the North Power incorporates the important protein contributions of all lean animal food products.
Native Roots
The Four Winds Model for Healthy Eating
The East Wind represents the dawn, and opportunity to learn, of a new day. Traditionally, spring was a time of new plant growth and the beginning of the gathering season. Today this East Wind is represented by the fruit and vegetable plant products. It also represents the importance of learning the new information about preventing chronic disease and disease complications.
The South Wind is represented by the warm summer wind and the energy received from plants that require the long growing season. Corn, beans, potato and squash, were grown by some tribes along the river and traded with the migratory tribes for wild game. The Europeans introduced new grains: wheat, rye, oats, barley and rice. All grains and starchy vegetables are represented in the South Wind.
Today, these four food groups; water, animal products, fruits and vegetables and starchy plants are equally important to create a balanced meal. Wicozani is Lakota for balance or wellness of being. When served as a plate of food, no one group should dominate the meal.
Native Roots
The Four Winds Model for Healthy Eating
A lot has changed besides our diet since our grandparent's time. For starters, most of us have inactive lifestyles, a benefit (or not) of the automation of nearly every chore our ancestors labored at -- heating, lighting, food preservation and preparation, sewing, gardening and on and on. Earning a living today usually involves sitting at a desk or computer for hours each day. One change we can make to help us adapt to the sedentary lifestyles so many of us now live is to eat less. Our bodies need less energy than we once did. Estimates of energy intake from long ago are 3,000 calories per day for migrating people. Today our energy needs are much less, typically 1800 - 2200 for healthy, modestly active adults. This leaves little room for feasting or even large meals. Furthermore, some health experts believe that Native Americans are more efficient at storing fat than other people because of a thrifty gene that was once an advantage during a feast and famine era. Regardless of any theory, I think we can all agree that we need less food to live a healthy life today. You can start by using the Four Winds Model to help you balance your plate. Keep in mind the following:
- Your drink is not on the plate but to the plate's side, so you can choose to divide the plate three ways instead of four. This plate method, like others is based on a 9 or 10 inch plate.
- Soup, a traditional food for many nations, is a balanced meal by itself with all four components: Water, Meat, Non-starchy Vegetable, and a Starch/Grain.
- Breakfasts don't always include a North or Protein food. Aim for a good source of protein with at least two meals each day.
- Use this as a gauge for portion size: Meat portion equals the size of the palm of your hand. Fruit or juice portions should be four to six ounces. Vegetable (non-starchy) portions should be one-half to one cup.
- Grains or starchy vegetable portions should be about one-fourth to one-third of your plate. About one cup of starchy vegetables or a two ounce serving of bread or cereal, or one-half cup plus a one-ounce bread product.
- To meet your fluid needs aim for 8 eight-ounce servings of water or hydrating fluids a day.
- If milk and lactose containing foods are not well tolerated, be sure to include other calcium sources such as cheeses, yogurt (naturally low in lactose) and/or a calcium supplement. Traditional sources of calcium include salmon with bones, leafy greens, bone marrow, some nuts, rhubarb, and in smaller amounts, wild meats. Due to a lack of nutritional analysis on the majority of common gathered plants, we are unsure of their contribution to our calcium stores. The RDA for Calcium is 800 mg/daily for adults, and 1200 mg/daily for children and young adults 11 to 24, as well as for pregnant and nursing women.
Kibbe Conti, RD, CDE, LN, is a member of the Oglala, Lakota tribe from Pine Ridge, South Dakota. She has worked in Indian Country for ten years as a Nutritionist and Dietitian, with the Indian Health Service in Pine Ridge and with Urban Indian Health in Denver, Colorado. She operates her own nutrition consulting business, Northern Plains Nutrition Consulting