President of the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA), Lemmel Benson Thomas, during the Association’s participation at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII), attended the Indigenous Food Policy Summit at the Food Policy Center of Hunter College in New York.
The summit was organised by Dr Mark Chatarpal and focused on Indigenous-led food sovereignty, policy, and sustainable food systems.
Indigenous Food Policy is a term that seeks to capture the dynamic and intricate relationships that Indigenous Peoples share with the practices, environments, and ingredients that go into preparing the cuisine that have sustained generations.
This, and more, discussions, presentations, and tasty gastronomic experiences were all part of the premier Indigenous Food Policy Summit at the Food Policy Center of Hunter College in New York, on 21 April 2026.
The Summit created space for Indigenous Peoples from across North, Central, and South America to gather and promote Indigenous food sovereignty on the sidelines of the UNPFII. Together with Indigenous cuisine on display and for sampling, and cooking demonstrations, participants also took part in sessions specifically themed around Indigenous food sovereignty and cultural celebration.
Food and our environment
According to the keynote speaker, Chef Sean Sherman, food sovereignty focuses on “the right of people to define their own food systems”. This right ensures that people have access to healthy, culturally appropriate foods, with the self-determination to control their methods of food production and distribution.
By endeavouring to find this means for him and his Dakota people, Chef Sherman continues to affirm that traditional foodways hold the answers we need to address current issues such as health disparities, social injustices, and environmental degradation, particularly among Indigenous Peoples. 
Among the main contributors at the Summit was Toshao Nicholas Fredericks from Shulinab Village and the South Rupununi District Council (SRDC). Bringing greetings on behalf of the Wapichan people, Toshao Fredericks emphasised the importance of land to Indigenous Peoples, stating, “without land there is no life.”
He added that the Wapichan people are fortunate to still have their pristine lands intact and are working to ensure they remain this way, as their food not only comes from the forest but is also a main part of their culture. Earlier this year, leaders from the South Rupununi met with Dr Chatarpal and technical experts to discuss the future of food access, production, and security within Wapichan Wiizi (Wapichan territory).
Experiences in Indigenous Food Policy
Other sessions included Rebuilding Indigenous Food Systems in Urban Diaspora Communities and Lenapehoking Through Food and Agriculture.
The former explored how indigenous food sovereignty is being rebuilt in urban and diaspora communities where access to land, traditional foods, and cultural infrastructure has been disrupted, while the latter focused on the history of the Lenape people and continuing Lenapehoking through food and agriculture.
Founded in 2009, the Lenape Center works to reclaim space and preserve the history and culture of the Lenape people, who are Indigenous to the land New York City now occupies. Its mission is to continue Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland, through community, culture and the arts. 
The APA team, which included Policy & Advocacy Coordinator Nicholas Peters and Policy Officer Felecia Valenzuela, also participated in another session with the Sapara Nation from Ecuador, entitled Cacao + Climate Change – A Ceremony and Conversation with the Sapara Nation.
This group, from deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, now has fewer than 700 people and fewer than three remaining fluent speakers of their ancestral language, who carry a living library of ecological knowledge and an unbroken reciprocal relationship with the rainforest. Part of this knowledge system is the nutritional and spiritual importance that the cacao plant has to the Sapara and Indigenous Peoples of the Americas.
In their native language, they shared with the audience that what is at stake for them is not only their land, but their ancestral ways of knowing, feeding, dreaming, and being. They say all of this now faces the threat of disappearance due to climate change and industry land grabs.
The APA will continue to engage with communities and leaders about food policies and their connection to Indigenous issues. This forms part of the organisation’s promotion and defence of Indigenous Peoples’ land rights, given the impacts that such policies have on governance, health, education, and livelihoods, as well as on the management of territorial resources.