"...when the
last individual of a race of living things breathes no more, another Heaven
and another Earth must pass before such a one can be again." |
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This article appeared in the March/April issue of the ALBC newsletter. ALBC members receive 6 bi-monthly newsletters that contain articles about the breeds of livestock and poultry that we work to conserve as well as the people involved in these efforts. Members also receive an annual breeders directory that provides contact information for ALBC members who have breeding stock available, as well a list of products from these breeds that they offer for sale. Please support our work, join today! From the March/April 2008 ALBC Newsletter:Rescuing the Navajo-Churro Sheep
But history was not kind to the Diné or to the breed and by the 1970’s it was almost extinct, replaced by other ovine breeds less suited to the rugged, water-scarce environment. Today, while the fleece is regaining notoriety among weavers, fiber artists, and collectors for its long-staple, silky yarn of many colors, the meat is not well known beyond Indian country. This may be about to change.
To celebrate the nuance of flavor that is rooted in one’s place of habitation also honors the hard work and the artisanship of the producers. In Europe this appreciation is embedded in commercial recognition and labeling of origin. It protects the product from commodification, inferior imitations, and is most widely applied to the work of vintners and cheese makers. In our American supermarket food culture we have all but lost our sensitivity to these nuances in food. We tend to prefer uniformity and shelf life, and thus lose the distinctiveness of traditional foods, seasonal and regional flavors.
To truly appreciate this heritage food, consider the foodways of a Native people who have survived and prospered by it without the systems of our current modern agricultural and livestock industries. Traditional grazing methods incorporate transhumance, or rotational herding, wherein the shepherd determines where to graze the sheep depending on the season, the quality and varieties of the forage, the medicinal properties of certain plants and how they maintain the health of the flock. There are no chemical dips; rather the sheep are run through a haze of smoke to control parasites. This knowledge is the collective wisdom of generations of shepherds and is particular to place. In this way people, animals, and landscape function holistically as community. By preserving and promoting food traditions that embrace ecological balance and gastronomy as well as cultural survival we ensure food security, healthy humans and landscapes, as well as good eating. Preserving rare breeds ensures biological diversity, essential to a resilient healthy planet. These are the reasons why the Slow Food Navajo-Churro presidium has come to be. The Presidium The Presidium was initially formed through the collaboration of Slow Food USA with Diné Be’iina, the Navajo Churro-Sheep Association, American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, the Center for Sustainable Environments, and Renewing America’s Food Traditions. The Alta Arizona Slow Food Convivium, the Institute for Integrated Rural Development at Diné College, the Navajo Sheep Project, and Heifer International have also played important supporting roles in the recovery of this breed. It is hoped that once the model for value-added direct marketing of Navajo-Churro lamb is seen to benefit those in Western Navajo lands, a similar but non-competitive effort will be developed between Eastern Navajo and Hispanic lands in New Mexico. It will be a memorable day when all residents and visitors to Arizona will be able to savor Navajo-Churro lamb, raised on the Colorado Plateau where Navajo shepherds continue to nurture their traditions and their flocks in harmony with the land. Gay Chanler is Convivium co-leader of Slow Food Alta Arizona, Flagstaff Arizona, and the coordinator of the Navajo-Churro Sheep Presidium. For more information email Gay at mchanler@cybertrails.com. For more information about Slow Food USA, contact: Slow Food USA National Office, 20 Jay Street, Suite 313, Brooklyn, NY 11201, call (718) 260-8000, email info@slowfoodusa.org, or visit www.slowfoodusa.org.
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