“American Indian and Alaska Native adults are almost 3 times more likely to have and die from type 2 diabetes compared to White adults” 1 2

“In type 2 diabetes, your body does not use insulin properly…Over time, your pancreas can’t make enough insulin to keep your blood glucose at normal levels. Type 2 diabetes develops most often in middle-aged and older adults but is increasing in young people.” 3

November, both Native American Heritage Month and American Diabetes Month, invites us to reflect on the wisdom of our ancestors, about eating for health and life.

Why do Indigenous people disproportionally suffer and die from diabetes?

The causes are complex but this disparity is likely rooted in how foods and lifestyles were altered through colonization, displacement from ancestral lands, loss of traditional food systems, exposure to processed and deficient foods, limited access to fresh produce, and economic barriers.

The harvest is finished

The people of Eeyamquittoowauconnuck (The Brothertown Indian Nation), an agricultural people, remember the seasonal rhythm of the matrilineal harvest. Whether in New England, New York, or Wisconsin, each of these historic places express a similar natural shift; the days shorten and darken, animals migrate or hibernate, and the first frosts are found resting on our homes and gardens; rendering them still.

The first frost, which occurs from late September through early November in these regions, marks the end of the growing season. The water inside plants turn into ice crystals at 32-degrees, causing cells to rupture and perish. New shoots and flowers cannot survive the harsh North American winter.

Long before the modern idea of something like type 2 diabetes, we understood that food was more than sustenance, it was ceremony, community, and medicine, which flowed in rhythm with the yearly cycle. The harvest is finished but not lost, to be stored in order to sustain the community until new harvests are made the following season.

Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash

Three Sisters by the water

Among the most enduring symbols of Indigenous American agriculture are the Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash. Each plant supports the other as they grow. Beans climb the corn’s stalk to get more sun, in turn, fixing nitrogen in the soil for the corn and adding protein to the diet. Squash spreads wide at the base, shading the ground to prevent competition from weeds, preserving moisture.4

In one tribe, the Three Sisters crops provided 80% of the daily diet and there were over 40 documented ways to prepare them alone or together.5

Did you carve a jack-o-lantern for Halloween? If you did, you a cut into a winter squash.

The Three Sisters, along with wild rice, berries, and wild game were grown, gathered, and prepared in ways that provided complete nutrition and reflected the values of reciprocity and respect for the land.

Indigenous food as diabetes prevention?

Today, we know a plant-based and low-carbohydrate diet has been linked with lower risk of premature death for people with type 2 diabetes6. The three sisters seems like a perfect match!

I close my eyes and image an Indigenous meal of these foods on my plate: a steaming pile of whole beans, strips of deep orange and yellow squash some boiled tender and warm and some smashed with corn to make a patty, colorful corn on the cob roasted or even popped on hot coals, a scoop of wild rice beside a dark berry sauce. I can see and even smell how “healthy” though relatively “plain” it could taste: whole plant parts, few ingredients, no artifical additives, not overly seasoned, all organic, locally sourced, produced by relatives.

Besides being a hearty meal, the nutritional quality of the Three Sisters are complementary. Corn is a source of carbohydrates, protein and oils, but the protein is lacking in the amino acids, lysine and tryptophan. Beans provide the missing amino acids. Squash is a source of carbohydrates and more protein if the seeds are consumed. All three vegetables are high in fiber and together, provide a range of minerals and vitamins. 5

Compared to other foods of the Standard American Diet, especially customary American Thanksgiving dinner, their relatively lower glycemic index ensures a slower, more steady glucose and insulin response:

  • corn ~55 (Low/Medium)
  • beans ~30 (Low)
  • squash ~50 (Low)
  • wild rice ~45 (Low)
  • berries ~25–40 (Low)

Wild rice may take longer to cook but it has a lower glycemic index of ~45 (Low) compared to white rice at ~70 (high).7

Reviving traditional food practices isn’t merely about nostalgia, it’s about reclaiming health and defense against a deadly and preventable disease related to the food we eat every day.

Community gardens, seed-saving programs, and traditional cooking workshops can become other key parts of a nutritional-health revival. We must start eating differently, perhaps more indigenously, to reclaim our diabetes-free wellness we once had.

Calls to Action for November

This month, try:

Simple steps, like cooking with whole, non-starchy vegetables or replacing refined sugars with berries, can connect us in small ways with Indigenous dietary practices.

Each act of choosing traditional foods is an act of remembrance, resilience, and renewal of our health. This month, try celebrating this indigenous food tradition. At the same time, you’re safeguarding against type 2 diabetes.

Disclaimer: This article is intended for educational and cultural purposes only. It is not medical advice, a diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional with questions or concerns about your health & wellness.

Other resources

Sources

  1. Improving Health in Indian Country from the CDC. ↩

  2. Disparities from the Indian Health Service. ↩

  3. Understanding Type 2 Diabetes from the American Diabetes Association. ↩

  4. The Three Sisters of Indigenous American Agriculture from the USDA. ↩

  5. Historical Indigenous Food Preparation Using Produce of the Three Sisters Intercropping System by Tania M. Ngapo et.al. ↩ ↩2

  6. Low-Carbohydrate Diet Scores and Mortality Among Adults With Incident Type 2 Diabetes from Harvard. ↩

  7. How to Make Wild Rice with Cranberries and Almonds from the American Diabetes Association. ↩