The Acequia Institute

Mexican-Origin Foods, Foodways, and Social Movements awarded prestigious book prize.

The Association for the Study of Food and Society awarded the "Best Edited Volume - 2018" Prize to a book co-edited by Devon G. Peña. Mexican-Origin Foods, Foodways, and Social Movements: Decolonial Perspectives was published in September 2017 by the University of Arkansas Press as part of the award-winning series "Food and Foodways Series" edited by Jennfiar Wallach and Michael Wise. The 466+ page volume was supported by a grant from the Julia Child Foundation and was co-edited by Professor Peña with Luz Calvo (Cal State-East Bay), Pancho McFarland (Chicago State), and Gabriel R. Valle (CSU-San Marcos, UW Ph.D. 2015).  In announcing the award, the ASFS explained the judges considered how the book "...filled in a gap...is incredibly timely and necessary given our political and social landscape....[and] was multidisciplinary and allowed many voices to be heard..."

Contributions include a chapter on the chicos-making tradition written by the late Joseph C. Gallegos and a lovely essay on quelites (Lambsquarters) by San Luis Valley ethnobotanist and healer, Teresa Vigil. The cover artwork was done by Denver-based Chicano artist, Anthony Ortega. The book was published September 1, 2017 by the University of Arkansas Press in the Food and Foodways Series and is available from all major booksellers (in-store, online) and directly from the publisher at this link, Mexican-Origin Foods.

Acequia Institute is featured in Yes! Magazine.  In the Water-Scarce Southwest, an Ancient Irrigation System Disrupts Big Agriculture by Shoshi Parks posted Nov 03, 2017. Water in the American Southwest has never been abundant. Its availability fluctuates depending on conditions like drought and mountain snowpack that feeds streams and rivers. But experts predict a future of greater extremes... To continue reading.... Click Here

The Acequia Institute appointed to Council of  the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network.  In September 2018, Rowen White, a Seed Keeper from the Mohawk community of Akwesasne, invited Dr. Devon G. Peña to join the Council of the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network (ISKN). Ms. White, leads the Council and is a widely respected tribal leader in the movement for seed sovereignty and food justice. Dr. Peña and Ms. White first met in the "Braiding the Sacred" network gatherings and collaborated on the group of corn protectors who authored the 2016 Ek Balam Declaration. Our participation is a result of the seed library work we have carried out at TAI since 1987 focused on heirloom corn.