Martin Reinhardt, assistant professor of Native American studies at Northern Michigan University, will present “Pre-colonization Diet and Indigenous Foods" at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 19, in the Beaumier U.P. Heritage Center. The center is located in 105 Cohodas Hall at NMU. 

Recent attempts to revitalize traditional indigenous diets include the Decolonizing Diet Project (DDP), which originated at NMU. Reinhardt developed the idea in 2010 after considering the food that was served as part of the annual First Nations Food Taster on campus. He wondered to what extent his ancestors would recognize the foods we now think of as American Indian. This led him to ask a question that would ultimately grow into a full-blown research study: “If I wanted to eat the foods my Native ancestors ate, what would I have to know and do?”

Reinhardt is an Anishinaabe Ojibway citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. In addition to his faculty position, he is the owner and CEO of Reinhardt & Associates. He has taught courses in American Indian education, tribal law and government and sociology.