Seminar will explore Indigenous language, foodways as path to healing

Gary Saul

“Indigenous Language and Foodways as Pathways to Intergenerational Healing” is the focus of the next College of Allied Health Professions Diversity and Inclusion Seminar Series, aimed at bringing to light the history of marginalized ethnic groups in the United States.

Gary Saul will discuss how many Native American cultures and societies continue to promote health and wellness using traditional frameworks of understanding through language and foodways.

Saul, who is Sičháŋǧu Lakȟóta, Umoⁿhoⁿ, Hocąk, is the current office associate for Native American Studies at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, and a student in his last semester of undergraduate work.

“Despite centuries of federal assimilationist policies, many tribes are currently undergoing flourishing cultural revitalization movements to overcome the most pressing challenges facing our communities,” Saul said. “The relationship between language and food are inextricable from communal and individual health.”

Saul works closely with the Native student body and various indigenous initiatives in the greater Omaha area as a cultural outreach advocate. He is the current secretary of UNO’s only Indigenous student organization, the Inter-tribal Student Council. His area of study concentrates on indigenous philosophy, cultural revitalization and Indian law.

The seminar, which will be recorded and available for viewing later, will be presented via Zoom at 4 p.m. on April 20. To register, click here.

Access to previous seminars can be found here.