Radical and Relational Approaches to Fermentation and Food Sovereignty began with conversations between Dr. Jessica Bissett Perea (UCD Native American Studies) and Dr. Maria Marco (UCD Food Science & Technology). Maria and Jessica developed a proposal to submit for the Mellon Foundation funded Science, Humanities and Arts: Process and Engagement (SHAPE) program to co-teach a course exploring food fermentation, Indigeneity, and featuring a performance from Inuit band Pamuya. 

The group came together under the name Radical and Relational Approaches to Fermentation and Food Sovereignty with the additions of Dr. Aviaja Lyberth Hauptmann (Visiting Carlsberg Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Davis and Assistant Professor at University of Greenland - Ilisimatusarfik) and Dr. Stephanie Maroney (Mellon Public Scholars Program Manager at UC Davis). 

Funding Support

The group has been generously supported with funding from various places and for various projects. 

• 2022 - 2023 Project selected as part of a UC Davis National Endowment for the Humanities Connections implementation grant 
• 2021 - 2023 National Science Foundation - Navigating the New Arctic Planning Grant 
• 2022 National Science Foundation - Request for Undergraduate Research Experiences
• 2021 Science, Humanities and Arts: Process and Engagement (SHAPE) Award
• 2020 Global Affairs Sustainable Development Goals Award 
• 2019 - 2022 Davis Humanities Institute TransCollege Research Cluster Award