After visiting the Māori in New Zealand, a University of California, Berkeley student has embarked on writing a dissertation about Chickasaw food sovereignty for her Ph.D. in environmental science, policy and management.
“I got into the Ph.D. program with this project in mind,” Sierra Hampton said. “This is what I am really passionate about.”
Hampton, a Chickasaw citizen, is from Valley Springs, California. The 32-year-old has a Bachelor of Arts in political science from UC, Berkeley, and a Master of Science in international development and management from Lund University, Sweden.
Hampton came up with the idea of highlighting traditional Chickasaw food production and meal preparation after visiting New Zealand for her master’s thesis.
“I was trying to look at how (Māori people) assert their right of self-determination,” Hampton said. “They would say, ‘We use the courts, international forums, public media, but at the end of the day, we just grow our own food on our own land.’”
The U.S. Food Sovereignty Alliance describes food sovereignty as the right of First American communities to have healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound, sustainable methods, as well as having the right to define their own food and agricultural systems.
“Food sovereignty is really essential to sovereignty as a people,” Hampton said. “It seeks to address issues like hunger, environmentally unsustainable food production, economic inequality and issues of social justice through political methods.”
Hampton’s dissertation relies heavily on Chickasaw people around the world taking food sovereignty into their own hands.
“I have spoken to 37 Chickasaw citizens so far,” Hampton said, and will continue this research through summer 2025. “We talk about different food related activities – if they hunt, fish, grow their own food, if they cook. We also talk about values. I want to know why those things are important to them.”
Hampton works directly with Chickasaw Nation departments specializing in food production, distribution and consumption for her research as well. She has leaned on Rhonda Sellers, an ecological resource coordinator for the Chickasaw Cultural Center in Sulphur, for help in better understanding Oklahoma’s ecosystem.
“Rhonda is an unbelievable wealth of knowledge,” Hampton said. “I come from California, so I don’t know a lot about native Oklahoma plants. She’s been my resource for education on Oklahoma horticulture.”
Hampton also credits Jennifer Bryant, Chickasaw Cultural Center Director of Horticulture, for her guidance through the research process.
Jennifer has been my point person in the Chickasaw Nation, my partner,” Hampton said. “She has helped me formulate questions, get in touch with citizens, and she comes to (the Chickasaw Nation) Institutional Review Board meetings with me. None of this would be possible without her.”
Hampton has enjoyed visiting Oklahoma to discover the vast amount of food sovereignty resources already made available to Chickasaw citizens by the Chickasaw Nation.
“The Chickasaw Nation Horticulture Department maintains the spiral gardens at the (Chickasaw) Cultural Center, a space where they use sustainable management techniques, and community members learn about traditional and nontraditional crops, pollinators and medicinal plants,” Hampton said. “The Chickasaw Nation Fish and Wildlife Services started a program a little more than a year ago to issue hunting and fishing licenses to citizens at no charge to hunt within our territory. It’s really cool to see how these programs are developing in real time.”
Upon submission of her dissertation, Hampton is eager to reconstruct her research into an educational book for the public.
“I just hope people who are interested in our culture and who are interested in food will pick it up and read it,” Hampton said. “I want it to be something that Chickasaw citizens can inform themselves on, get excited about and really take pride in.”
Hampton also expects to develop her findings into a children’s book catered to First American children.
“My goal is to help Chickasaw youth really understand food sovereignty and envision themselves contributing to it,” Hampton said.
Hampton hopes to work directly with fluent Chickasaw speakers to create a Chikashshanompa’ (Chickasaw language) version of the children’s book as well as an English version with key Chickasaw words.
Hampton said she plans to have her books finished and ready for print by 2026. She said she thinks her research will shed light on the collective efforts of Chickasaw people to preserve self-governance through food sovereignty.
“Our Chickasaw people are enacting our food sovereignty,” Hampton said. “It’s no single activity or person but our people together building foundations and strategies for food sovereignty for today and future generations.”
To learn more, please contact Hampton at sierrabonniemoon@gmail.com or (510) 646-5402.