Last month at the Mountlake Terrace High School, Nicole Mina Askarian — the Native American education specialist for the Edmonds School District — hosted an inspiring day of education and celebration at the school district’s 2024 Native American, Native Alaskan and Indigenous Heritage Celebration Day. One of the reasons that I attended is that the event featured Chef Jason Vickers, founder of Natoncks Metsu (“Feeding My Cousins”). Chef Vickers shared his insights about traditional Indigenous foods and the importance of maintaining Indigenous Food Sovereignty for the health and cultural preservation of Indigenous communities. He led a powerful discussion about the resurgence of interest in traditional Indigenous ways in food, medicine, ceremonies and daily living.
A colleague of Vickers is Chef Sean Sherman (from the Oglala Lakota Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota), who operates a restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota featuring Indigenous foods. Like Vickers, he is a leading advocate for Indigenous food sovereignty, focusing on revitalizing and promoting traditional Native foods. He states:
“Indigenous foodways are attainable models of sustainability, offering a proud connection to the land. They also provide a path to food sovereignty, enshrining the right for Native peoples to define themselves on their own terms. But even if those arguments aren’t acknowledged by those who have ignored Indigenous needs for so long, Native restaurants could begin to rewrite the reputation of ‘flyover country.’ The heartland could become a more desirable tourist destination, not just for its natural beauty, but for its cultural and culinary heritage. With every plate of smoked venison, heirloom hominy, or stewed rabbit, we get a little closer.” (Eater, October, 2024)…