Indigenous food systems ensure ecological and socio-economic sustainability but remain marginalized in science and policy. We argue that better documentation, deeper understanding, and political recognition of indigenous knowledge can help transform food systems.Indigenous knowledge is crucial for sustainable transformations of food systems but often remains marginalized in policy and practice. Controversies surrounding the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit have highlighted this issue, as a broad alliance of academics and activists boycotted the event by arguing that it disempowered indigenous people and constituted an effort by "multinational corporations, philanthropies, and export-oriented countries to […] capture the global narrative of food systems transformation 1 ".The contestation of the 2021 Summit reflects a deeper tension between increasing emphasis on the importance of indigenous knowledge in academic research and its continued marginalization in institutions and decision-making processes of the global food system. As participants and organizers of the 2021 Summit's side event Bridging scientific and indigenous peoples' knowledge for sustainable and inclusive food systems, we identified seven key entry points for the inclusion of indigenous knowledge in the negotiation of food systems transformations. Entry points for indigenous engagementLearning from case studies and discussions at our side event of the 2021 Summit, we highlight the need for concrete entry points beyond merely symbolic acknowledgment of the importance of indigenous knowledge. We identified seven entry points that can contribute to bridging indigenous and academic knowledge about food systems (Fig. 1). The diversity of entry points reflects the need for a multi-pronged approach that includes an improved understanding of indigenous knowledge systems, more inclusive practices of conservation and negotiation, as well as political articulations of indigenous representation and self-determination.Co-evolution of ecosystems and knowledge systems. Indigenous people conserve about 80% of the world's biodiversity 2 and their knowledge systems have co-evolved with ecosystems, guiding agricultural and other livelihood practices. Despite growing academic interest in the co-evolution of ecosystems and knowledge systems 3 , agricultural development often fails to recognize the adaptive character of indigenous knowledge and practices. Understanding this co-evolution and adaptation is crucial for situating indigenous food systems and their sustainable roles in wider environments 4 .