Indigenous Food Systems & the Zombie Apocalypse with Linda Black Elk — WildFed Podcast #128

Our guest today is Linda Black Elk, an ethnobotanist specializing in the traditional foods and medicines of the Great Plains and the Director of Food Sovereignty at United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, ND. She's also the mother of three Lakota sons. There's a lot of overlap in Linda and our philosophies around foraged foods and medicines, particular in how we see each species as more of a "who" than a "what," since getting to know them is more like getting to know another person than it is like buying an inanimate product. Linda and Daniel, of course, discuss food and medicine sovereignty as well as ethnobotany, but their discussion takes a turn towards some other rather interesting topics, like the euphemistic "zombie apocalypse." Now, of course, neither she nor Daniel thinks there are really zombies or some forthcoming zombie apocalypse, but it does give them a way to, in the spirit of jest, explore the idea of a temporary or long-term social, economic, industrial, technological, or medical systems collapse and their implications. Though it's become really cliché in recent years, the meme of the zombie apocalypse, we think, is born out of the collective psychology of a culture that knows its lifeway isn't sustainable, its systems have become far too fragile, and its people have gotten a little too far away from the skills they'd need to care for themselves in the absence of a nanny-state. Recent events have certainly left many of us realizing we'd be wise to prepare our lives for hardships beyond toilet paper shortages. Hopefully, that preparedness never pays off — since it would mean challenging times — but just in case, many of us have decided to hedge our bets. Investing in small, or maybe big ways, in our skillsets, and in making ourselves more antifragile. So get ready for something a little different today. Still on theme, but with a playful edge that is sure to make you smile. Get ready for the zombie thwarting powers of Linda Black Elk! View full show notes, including links to resources from this episode here: https://www.wild-fed.com/podcast/128