Connecting Indigenous Food, Health, and Language

Working with NYC’s Department of Health and the Little Sisters of the Assumption Family Health Service, ELA launched a 7-week series of activities in East Harlem centered on indigenous food, language, and community. Led by Nahuatl teacher Irwin Sánchez, the project brought together Mixtec and Mam mothers to share recipes, transmit languages, and talk about health. These gatherings were part of a larger, ongoing collaboration with the Health Department which has also involved in-depth interviews with speakers of Mixtec, Mam, Nahuatl, Garifuna, K’iche’, and Kichwa now living in New York.