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Zuni farming and united states government policy: The politics of biological and cultural diversity in agriculture

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Abstract

Indigenous Zuni farming, including cultural values, ecological and biological diversity, and land distribution and tenure, appears to have been quite productive and sustainable for at least 2000 before United States influence began in the later half of the 18th century. United States Government Indian agriculture policy has been based on assimilation of Indians and taking of their resources, and continues in more subtle ways today. At Zuni this policy has resulted in the degradation and loss of natural resources for farming, reduction in the number of Zuni farmers and their control over farming resources, individualization of rights in farmland, consolidation of farm fields, and declining biological diversity in agriculture. The Zuni Sustainable Agriculture Project with the Zuni Irrigation Association and the Zuni community, are now working to revitalize sustainable Zuni farming, based on traditional values, knowledge, and technology, combined with modern knowledge and technology where appropriate. The United States government can support these efforts through appreciation of the need for Zuni control and the potential value of cultural and biological diversity.

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  1. David A. Cleveland
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  2. Fred Bowannie Jr.
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  3. Donald F. Eriacho
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  4. Andrew Laahty
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  5. Eric Perramond
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Additional information

David A. Cleveland is Co-Director of the Center for People, Food and Environment in Tucson, Arizona, Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology and Environmental Studies Program, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106-3210, and was Director of the Zuni Sustainable Agriculture Project during the planning stage from 1992–93, and the Zuni Folk Varieties Project 1992–94. (Author to which correspondence should be addressed at the University of California.)

Fred Bowannie Jr. is a Zuni farmer, Vice-President of the Nutria Irrigation Unit of the Zuni Irrigation Association, and Assistant Director of the Zuni Sustainable Agriculture Project.

Donald Eriacho is a Zuni farmer, Governor of the Pueblo of Zuni, and formerly Director of the Zuni Sustainable Agriculture Project 1993–94, and assistant Director of the Zuni Folk Varieties Project, 1993–1994.

Andrew Laahty is a Zuni farmer, President of the Nutria Irrigation Unit of the Zuni Irrigation Association, and currently Director of the Zuni Sustainable Agriculture Project.

Eric Perramond is a graduate student in the Department of Geography, University of Texas, Austin, Texas.

Authors after the senior author are listed in alphabetical order. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of any the organizations or projects with which they are and have been affiliated.

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Cleveland, D.A., Bowannie, F., Eriacho, D.F. et al. Zuni farming and united states government policy: The politics of biological and cultural diversity in agriculture. Agric Hum Values 12, 2–18 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02217150

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