Tara Maudrie (MSPH), a Sault Ste. Marie Ojibwe PhD student at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, discusses food sovereignty in an Urban Native context. She points out that our relationship with food consists of more than the things we eat and encompasses our relationships to land, water, air, and all living beings. Tara reminds us that “traditional foods will always find you,” and that no matter where we are we can connect with our place-based eating values.
Tara Maudrie is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and has been an urban Native her whole life. Prior to coming to the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health, Tara worked as a program assistant at Detroit American Indian Health and Family Services and completed her Bachelor's of Science degree in Pre-Physical Therapy and Exercise Science at Oakland University.
Tara completed her MSPH in the Human Nutrition Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Spring 2021. While completing her MSPH degree she worked with the CAIH as a practicum student with Dr. Victoria O'Keefe and Dr. Melissa Walls. During her MSPH she led a mixed-methods study of food insecurity in partnership with the Baltimore Native Community. Tara Maudrie is currently pursuing her PhD in the Social Behavioral Interventions Program at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (JHBSPH).
Tara is passionate about urban Native health and food security and hopes to continue to explore these issues and advocate for policy change throughout her PhD. She is advised by Dr. Victoria O'Keefe. You can keep up with her work through PubMed and ResearchGate.
Resources:
Publications: PubMed, ResearchGate
Organizations:
Sacred Roots: https://www.aihfs.org/sacredroots.html
Native American Lifelines: https://nativeamericanlifelines.org/
Well For Culture: https://www.wellforculture.com/
Tara’s morning affirmation: “I am on Indigenous land”
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Indigenae theme song: “Nothing Can Kill My Love For You” by Semiah
Instagram: @semiah.smith
Find her on Youtube, Spotify, Amazon Music, and Apple Music.