Resources First Food is Medicine: A Toolkit to Support Tribal Policies to Protect the First Food
This digital and printable toolkit was created by and for Indigenous communities. It's organized by topic, including community engagement as a foundation for good, community-driven and supported law and policy; types of Tribal laws and policies that can support breastfeeding/chestfeeding; and more!
Topics
Human milk has been the traditional first food and first medicine of Indigenous communities throughout North America since time immemorial. Indigenous human milk supports strength and life and is connected with long-term positive health outcomes.
The First Food is Medicine toolkit published by the Public Health Law Center can be viewed on your phone, computer, or tablet and can also be printed or downloaded for free!
This toolkit was developed and written by Clarice Martell, Melanie Plucinski, and Julie Ralston Aoki at the Public Health Law Center at Mitchell Hamline School of Law, St. Paul, Minnesota, located in the area known as Bdote, where the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers meet, within the traditional homelands of the Dakota People; with contributions from Valerie Poole at the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Epidemiology Center, a program of the Great Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Inc., located in the Lac du Flambeau Nation.
This was created to be a source of ideas and support for Tribal leaders, public health staff, child care providers, employers, and community members who seek to protect and sustain first food practices within their communities.