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Article: Got tradition? American Indians use native foods to fight diabetes and revive Indian culture.(Cover Story)
- Article from:
- Colorlines Magazine
- Article date:
- June 22, 2005
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Color Lines Magazine. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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As a child, Terrol Dew Johnson expected to lose a leg one day. It was what happened to the elders. They got "bad sugar." They became sleepy, their circulation slowed and inevitably they underwent amputations. It had happened to his grandmother, and Johnson assumed it was something that occurred later in life.
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Not that the teachers on his reservation in Arizona didn't try to convince him otherwise. The reservation today has the highest rates of diabetes in the world, and in home economics classes, along with other American Indians, Johnson received lectures and brochures on the benefits of eating healthy. All that talk didn't do ...