Tohono O'odham Community Action (TOCA) Food systems revitalization efforts

The Tohono O'odham reservation is situated approximately sixty miles south east of Tucson , Arizona in the Sonoran Desert . The reservation is spread over a 4,600 square mile area. The Tohono O'odham have one of the highest rates of type II diabetes in the world. TOCA is an innovative, independent grassroots organization founded in 1996 by Terrol Dew Johnson and Tristan Reader. Johnson and Reader have attempted to find solutions within their own community to slow the rates of diabetes. Their goal is to create effective, culturally relevant solutions to problems that confront the Tohono O'odham community.

TOCA has envisioned Indian health as encompassing all parts of Indian life. One part cannot be separated from the other. TOCA's programs work to create: sustainable economic development, revitalize cultural tradition and to rejuvenate the community food system. To achieve these goals TOCA has developed four programs: The Tohono O'odham Basketweavers Organization, The Tohono O'odham Community Food System, the Youth/ Elder Outreach Program and the Tohono O'odham Community Arts and Culture Program (Lopez et. al 2002). According to Lopez, Reader and Buseck;

Destruction of the Tohono O'odham food system has led to a dramatic loss of Tohono O'odham language and cultural traditions is as equally devastating as the loss of the people's physical health. Virtually all elements of traditional culture – ceremonies, stories, songs, language- are directly rooted in the system of food production (11, 2002).

The following focuses on the Tohono O'odham Community food system.

Fifty years ago the Tohono O'odham were unaffected by diabetes (Weiss, 1989). Diabetes rates increased as loss of traditional foods decreased. The Tohono O'odham diet was rich in soluble fiber, gums, pectin and complex carbohydrates because desert plants use these substance to capture and store water collected in rainy times to survive in drier seasons. When desert plants are eaten, the fiber slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream (Native Seed Search). The health benefits afforded by a return to a traditional diet are clear.

With this in mind TOCA is attempting to restart traditional farms using flood plain agriculture and growing traditional Tohono O'odham crops. In 2002 four acres of crops were planted and harvested. The community based project has grown to include a much larger farm today. In addition to the community farms TOCA is providing technical and material support to help families in the community create traditional gardens. Crops include Tepary beans, squash, 60 day corn, melons, devils claw and chilies. The hope is not that everyone will become a farmer but that traditional foods will be available to everyone within the community.

The glycemic and insulin indices of teparies are low 29 and 38 percent, respectively, as compared to the higher indices for such Western staples as potatoes, bread, and other processed cereals. Tepary beans ( Phaseolus acutifolius ) for example, are higher in protein, vegetable oils, starches, and riboflavin and have higher calcium and niacin contents than soybeans. “A 100-gram portion of dry, white Tepary beans contains 24 grams protein, 144 milligrams calcium, 405 milligrams phosphorus, and 1,653 milligrams potassium” (Hodgson, 2001:173). Teparies have a relatively low percent starch digestibility, from 26 to 33 percent digested after four hours as compared to 55 percent starch digested for bread (Nabhan and Teiwes, 1983).

Mesquite ( Prosopis ) was another important food staple for the Tohono O'odham. Mesquite Pods were ground into a meal that was sweet and nutritious: when used in baking, it partially substitutes for wheat flour, while also reducing the amount of sugar needed (Zastaury, 1996). The seed of mesquites also contains a fibrous gum, galactomannin. Galatomannin gums are thought to be potentially useful in the dietary treatment of diabetes by controlling blood sugar increases after eating. These gums lower glycemic responses, the glycemic index being 25 percent. Mesquite meal is digested more slowly then other meals (Hodgson, 2001).

Over the past six years TOCA has accomplished a great deal. Their goal to engage the community with family and village gardens, to implement desert foods collections projects and to provide technical and material support to community members has been very successful. In the future they hope to encourage government programs such as WIC to provide traditional food items to mothers in the community that participate in the program.

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