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Embodied Heritage: Obesity, Cultural Identity, And Food Distribution Programs In The Choctaw Nation Of Oklahoma, Kasey Aliene Jernigan
Embodied Heritage: Obesity, Cultural Identity, And Food Distribution Programs In The Choctaw Nation Of Oklahoma, Kasey Aliene Jernigan
Doctoral Dissertations
This research examines obesity among Oklahoma Choctaws at the intersections of issues related to historical trauma; structural, symbolic, and everyday violence; and the social processes of heritage, identity, and meaning-making. Unique to Native Americans is an historical reliance on food assistance, from rations in the 1800s to the more recent Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). Participation in FDPIR is linked with increased risk of obesity, with foods historically high in fat and sugar, and is the primary food source for more than 60% of Native Americans. Spanning more than six months of ethnographic research, this dissertation explores the …