Tiana Suazo
‘Growing up, I remember hearing stories from my relatives, especially my grandpa, about how big of a farming mecca Taos Pueblo really was back in the day. And I feel like when farming was really huge, that’s when we had a greater sense of community too.We all watched out for one another, made sure everyone had enough food and was just generally doing okay.When we have clean, healthy food, we have good, clean, healthy minds and a better outlook on the world. Farming teaches you so much about your environment and how to appreciate your environment – everything from the air, to the pollinators, to the water, to the soil.
“When you’re in the ground farming, you have so much time to think. Not only about current issues, but historical issues too and how they’ve influenced where we are today. With my work at Red Willow Farm, that’s really what we’re trying to do: look at the past, and how we can dismantle a lot of these oppressive and racist systems that have been holding Black, Indigenous and people of color where they are today.
“We have an education issue in America. That’s really what it is, because in school we’re never taught about the Black, Native or Latinx experiences at all. It’s all coming from one perspective. People tend to think, ‘because I’m in a tricultural area like Taos, we’re automatically not oppressive.’ But if you don’t allow BIPOC voices into any part of the nonprofit sector, you probably need to reevaluate yourself. And that’s what we’re trying to do here; we’re trying to educate and train ourselves as much as we can, and jump on every kind of anti racist training because it’s always important to refresh your way of thinking.
“We’re losing a lot of great, educated young people because they cannot find opportunity within our own community. It’s hard to live here, and it’s just sad to see how deep systematic oppression goes. It’s present in almost every aspect of our lives, from tribal government to the police system to government and nonprofit organizations. It’s in front of everyone’s eyes and no one’s doing anything about it..”
Tiana Suazo is the executive director of Red Willow Center and serves on the board of Alianza de Agricultura in Taos, New Mexico.