Chandra F. Maracle, founder of Kakhwa'on:we/Real People Eat Real Food
Chandra Maracle is a local health-food junkie and corn enthusiast who has been playing with her food for more than 25 years. She is the mother of four daughters, and at any given moment, she is thinking about, talking about, preparing, serving, or eating food. She was born and raised on the West side of Buffalo and later studied at Cortland College, University of Buffalo, and University of Salamanca, Spain. She has worked as Youth Leader at Native American Community Services in Buffalo, Graduate Assistant in Native American Studies at UB, and Cultural Resource Specialist at the Native American Magnet School #19. She was a Diversity Educator with the National Conference for Community and Justice, co-founder of the Indigenous Women’s Initiatives, and has certifications as a practitioner of Massage, Reiki, and Yoga. Chandra is co-founder and Nutrition Coordinator of Skaronhyase’ko:wa Tyohterakentko:wa tsi Yontaweya’tahkwa/the Everlasting Tree School. She is currently a Collaborator on The Legacies Project: An Intergenerational/Intercultural Exchange of People Transforming the Food System through York University in Toronto. She was a collaborator on the Healthy Roots committee and developed the Haudenosaunee Food Guide for the Community Challenge. Chandra is founder of Kakhwa’on:we/Real People Eat Real Food, exploring links between food, people, language, and land. Her current current work is in the psychology of eating and using food as tool and strategy for personal transformation and social change by feeding cultural values along with human bodies. She recently completed a second year in the Onkwawen:na Kentyohkwa adult Mohawk language immersion program. She lives on the Six Nations of the Grand River Territory where she is often found on her stand up paddleboard.