A program from our partner: RISE Learning for Life

Food is Medicine

Presenters: Jonathan Nez and Phefelia Nez

Date: Monday, October 13, 2025.        Time: 10:00 AM ONLINE Link to come

This session will explore the impact of the pandemic on tribal communities, the role of food sovereignty in health, and challenges like food deserts and transportation and economic barriers to food access.    Food will be looked at as medicine with the need to examine control over food systems.   Speakers will highlight traditional foods, partnerships, and policy advocacy to improve Indigenous food systems and well-being, concluding with a call to action for sustainable, community-driven solutions.

Speaker:  Jonathan Nez is the former President and Vice President of the Navajo Nation. As Nez prepared for this speaking opportunity, he reflected on the pandemic as a defining moment in Navajo history—one that symbolizes the unbreakable resilience and indomitable spirit of his people. With each memory he shared, he was reminded of his Nation’s unwavering determination to overcome adversity. Jonathan Nez officially announced his bid to rerun for Congress the morning of July 22, 2025, in Flagstaff.