Among the finalists were Native American groups representing
tribes in North Carolina, Nebraska, South Dakota, and New
Mexico. Cash infusions of any stripe are well-needed on most
reservations, where Native Americans work to build a better
economic future, while honoring a proud heritage of the past. In
the Navajo Nation of the American Southwest, the cultural
preservation plays out in the revival of traditional food and
farming practices. Laurel Bower-Burgmaier explains. Walter
Whitewater is a member of the Navajo Nation from Pinon, Arizona.
Occupying 17-million acres, the Navajo Nation makes up one of
the largest Indian territories in the U.S. Whitewater lives and
works as a chef in Santa Fe, New Mexico, but every summer he
takes several weeks off from his cooking duties to fulfill his
ceremonial obligations on the reservation located in
northeastern Arizona. SLUG WALTER MAKING CORN OFFERING Walter
Whitewater, Navajo: "In our way, the food is very sacred,
especially with the corn. It is very sacred to the p