Kibbe Conti
Consultant
and Creator of Four Winds Nutritional
Model
Kibbe Conti, Lakota, MS,
RD, began her life on Pine Ridge Reservation, but when she
was three, her father moved the family to the Twin Cities
in Minnesota. After the move Conti recalls, “We visited
Pine Ridge but we only went to the border where our family
had land. This was during the 70s. It was a turbulent time
and it wasn’t safe to travel all over the rez.”
Conti was raised in an urban environment and graduated from
the University of Minnesota with a BS in nutrition and
dietetics. She worked for a couple of years in New York
City for Kraft Food Service. Then she did her dietetic
internship at the College of Saint Elizabeth in New Jersey.
That summer, she and her future husband decided to go to
Pine Ridge, but only after some reflection. Conti recalls,
“My father, Ed McGaa, wrote a book called
Mother Earth
Spirituality. Reading
the book raised my interest in my culture and
spirituality. This led me to want to reconnect with my
culture. My boyfriend was also interested in going to
Pine Ridge.”
Kibbe and her boyfriend enjoyed their summer internship.
The people at Pine Ridge were pleased with their work and
urged both of them to come back to work. The next summer,
after Kibbe's husband had completed his master’s degree in
social work, the two of them returned to Pine Ridge. “My
work as a dietitian was very broad," says Kibbe. "For five
years I did clinical work community nutrition and food
service. During this time I earned my certification as a
diabetes educator."
Kibbe's husband had to do some work in Denver. Kibbe was
enjoying Pine Ridge and reluctant to leave, but she got a
job as a diabetes coordinator at Denver Indian Health and
Family Services. “The people were great, but the program
was very under funded,” she says.
Consultant
Two years later, when Conti and her husband returned to
Pine Ridge from Denver, they had a newborn son. Wanting to
spend time with her son, Conti started a part-time
consulting practice that grew quickly and included clinical
jobs with such organizations as the Cheyenne River Sioux
Tribe, the Rapid City Medical Center and the Black Hills
Dialysis Systems at Pine Ridge. During this period Conti
had a second child (a daughter) and earned a master’s
degree in biological science and nutrition at South Dakota
State University.
Four Winds Model
Development
Conti's work and studies made it very clear to her that the
health of her people had declined over the decades as they
switched from their traditional diet to a modern diet that
was high in fats and sugar. By listening to the elders
Conti learned about the basic elements of the traditional
diet. She felt that her people's health could be enhanced
by honoring the traditional diet and including healthy,
modern foods.
Conti, in collaboration with Elder Bob Chasing Hawk,
Cheyenne River Sioux, developed the Four Winds Nutrition
Model, which
other tribes have adapted to their own traditions and
situations. The Four Winds model, based on the Medicine
Wheel, illustrates the foods used by Northern Plains
Nations’ ancestors as well as healthy foods that are
available in today’s world. The interest in this model
led to invitations to Conti to make presentations on
nutrition from a Native perspective at conferences and
workshops in more than 20 states.
(This
figure was created and copyrighted by Kibbe
Conti.)
The
West Wind brings life-giving rains. Traditionally, pure
water and teas were the main drinks. Today the lesson of
the West Wind is to enjoy the ancestors’ drinks as well as
sugar-free, alcohol-free drinks.
The North Wind brings cold winds that are associated with
the strength and endurance of the Buffalo. The ancestors
ate the Buffalo and other lean meats, which are
increasingly available again today, along with low-fat,
high protein foods.
The East Wind brings new plant growth and the season when
the ancestors gathered roots, berries, seeds, and leafy
greens. Many of these foods are available today.
The South Wind represents the warm summer wind and the
energy received from plants that require a long growing
season. Some tribes grew corn, beans, potato, and squash.
These foods are still available, as are the wheat, rye,
oat, barley and rice that were introduced by Europeans. A
lesson from the South Wind and the ancestors is to use
minimally processed foods.
Full
Circle
Now that her
children are older, Conti is in a full-time position with
the Indian Health Service as senior, supervisory dietitian
at Sioux Sanitarium in South Dakota. She is doing clinical
work, overseeing the kitchen and supervising the cook.
“When I told my father about my new job,” says Conti, “he
reminded me that decades ago my grandma, my great aunt and
my auntie all worked in the kitchen that I would soon be
supervising.”
This
article was originally published in the Summer, 2009
issue of
Winds of Change. (The cover
artist is William Rabbit, Cherokee.)
For more information about the medicine wheel nutrition
intervention see:
"The medicine
wheel nutrition intervention: A diabetes education study
with the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe" by Kendra K.
Kattelmann, PhD, RD; Kibbe Conti, MS, RD; Cuirong Ren,
PhD. Journal of
the American Dietetic Association, Volume 109
Issue 9 (September 2009), published by Elsevier.
"Improving health among American Indians through
environmentally-focused nutrition interventions” by Jamie
Stang, PhD, MPH, RD, LN. Journal of
the American Dietetic Association, Volume 109
Issue 9 (September 2009).