Luke and Linda Black Elk

Luke and Linda Black Elk are food sovereignty activists and teachers of traditional plant knowledge, gardening, food preservation, and foraging. They spend their time collecting and preparing traditional foods and medicines for Indigenous peoples and communities in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and beyond. Luke is a chef, focusing on the traditional foods of Turtle Island, and he is a founding board member of the Tatanka Wakpala Model Sustainable Community, which is a Native non-profit on the Cheyenne River Nation focusing on Indigenous building design, permaculture, food sovereignty, and a return to Lakota spirituality as a guide for everyday life. Linda is a renowned ethnobotanist, author, and educator, and she currently serves as the Education Director at North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems. Luke is the Farm Director at Hohwoju Otunwe, a 16-acre organic farm on recovered homelands of the Oceti Sakowin in southern Minnesota. Together, Luke and Linda sit on the board of Makoce Ikikcupi, a Dakota-led non-profit, which is a Reparative Justice project on Dakota lands. Luke and Linda make sure their three sons stay involved in all of this work, so they may learn about the importance of feeding themselves and their communities with food and medicine that nourishes and heals mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.