32 Nebraskaland • October 2025
government rations, diabetes and
heart disease have become two of the
leading causes of death among Native
Americans.
Recognizing the declining physical
and mental health of their people,
there has been a call from recent
generations to restore traditional
diets. One of those people is Deb
Echo-Hawk (Pawnee), who started
the Pawnee Seed Preservation
Project in 1998. Over time, ancestral
seeds diminished because they
did not grow well in Oklahoma, so
what was still viable was precious
— remnants of vegetables and fruit
that were the very last of their kind.
The Pawnee cultural committee and
chiefs asked families to come forward
with ancestral seeds, to be given to
Echo-Hawk, the Keeper of the Seeds,
for replenishment.
Then in 2003, Echo-Hawk received
Bi-colored painted-like-a-horse beans are white and brown and/or black. Hunt admires the beans' striking
appearance and sweet flavor.
In 2024, Hunt grew blue speckled corn in his Pawnee garden.
