Quick Read By Richard Mertens Correspondent Luke Kapayou, who grew up on the Meskwaki Settlement in Tama, Iowa, noticed as he got older that fewer people were gardening. So he resolved to keep growing traditional beans and squash, and he began to seek out other varieties both on and off the settlement. “I don’t know, I think I believe these seeds are sacred,” he says. “It makes me want to keep growing them, and I want to make sure our kids keep growing them.” Why We Wrote This “Food sovereignty” emphasizes local food production and people’s agricultural and culinary heritage. For Native Americans, it’s a way to repair damage inflicted when European Americans severed them from their traditional ways.