Promoting sustainable Southwestern cuisine<br>

Suitable Site

The La Posada Hotel, favorite of Southwestern architect, Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, was a fitting backdrop to the event. Opened in May of 1930, the hotel enjoyed an important role in the Winslow community.

Like the native foods and repatriated seeds presented at the celebration, La Posada faced a decline and threat of extinction. Open for only 27 years, La Posada closed to the public in 1957.

In 1997, Allan Affeldt and Frank Randall purchased the hotel. David Lutzick, manager, has joined the partnership, which saves a truly grand old hotel for future generations.

Groups involved

Slow Foods, a food education organization encouraging people to “enjoy the table,” co-sponsored the event. According to Patrick Martino, the National Executive Director of the organization, Slow Foods is the exact opposite of fast food and counts work with spreading knowledge of indigenous turkeys and churro sheep as huge successes.

Native Seeds/SEARCH, an organization also represented at the event, was just one donor of dozens of repatriated seeds presented to the Hopi Natural Resources Department. This gift, coordinated by the Hopi Cultural Preservation Office and CSE, offers seed varieties, some of which have been unavailable since World War II. Micah Lomaomvaya accepted the seeds on behalf of the Hopi Tribe. Hopi farmers will plant some of the seeds this season; others will be preserved at tribal offices.

The Center for Sustainable Environments describes itself as a catalyst for collaborative conservation, bringing together the talents and expertise of people ranging from scientists and educators to students and community members seeking creative solutions to environmental problems. Research, education, outreach and stewardship are some of the tools CSE uses in this search.

Gary Nabhan, PhD, the Director of CSE, served as host and master of ceremonies for the event and the banquet, which featured foods from the Four Corners region. Nabhan, widely recognized as a leading voice in ethnobiology and conservation biology, has worked with more than a dozen indigenous communities on cross-cultural initiatives to protect plants, habitats and agricultural traditions.

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