| With today being Native American Heritage Day, it’s a good time to reflect on what FHDC, Evolve, and our partners have been doing to support and uplift our Indigenous communities that live in our housing and provide food and other central services to our communities.
Since last year, FHDC has shared land at Nuevo Amanecer and Colonia Unidad with Capaces Leadership Institute (CLI) so that indigenous and farmworker youth and families could practice, share, and expand their knowledge in relation to the land. This partnership is called The Anáhuac Program, an assemblage of intergenerational workshops centered around native ancestral oral history, resources, medicines, and foods. Together, we have built community gardens, a traditional kitchen, a greenhouse, and a weekly summer farmers’ market stand for families to purchase organic herbs, vegetables, and medicines at affordable prices.
With over 5 Indigenous languages spoken on FHDC properties, this is a source of immense growth and healing for FHDC families, youth, and staff to feel a freer and more independent community, especially during the isolation and health concerns created by the pandemic. This transformation and reclamation of land is something we plan and hope to deploy at all of our properties that house Indigenous families as a way to instill food and job sovereignty, unity, land education, and peace. |
