This Thanksgiving, learn about Indigenous foodways past, present and future

Restoring Indigenous foodways

Many Indigenous communities lack equal access to medical care and healthy food, having been cut off from their traditional diets, lifestyles and practices through the systems of colonialism and oppression in the U.S. Organizations like First Nations Development Institute are fighting to reverse this cultural erosion. First Nations awards grants to support Indigenous farmers, increase food access and help tribal governments rebuild their sustainable food systems.

“When grocery stores are closed, quantities are limited, and the supply chain is threatened, a return to Native foods can be the difference between sickness and health,” First Nation’s A-dae Romero-Briones wrote in a 2020 essay for FoodPrint. “And a recognition and celebration of Native foodways can be a factor in how people find nutrition and nourishment.”

For Minneapolis-based NĀTIFS, the focus is on food entrepreneurship and education. Many Indigenous Americans have lost their connection to traditional recipes and food customs, “and it’s critical that we’re able to put that knowledge back together in a modern context,” says Thompson, “so that people can keep doing the research on their own ancestral foods, the foods of their grandparents and great grandparents, essentially.” Over the last several years, the NĀTIFS team has been working with local tribal nations to preserve and promote the culinary heritage of the area.

In 2020, NĀTIFS was planning to open the Indigenous Food Lab, a culinary training center where Indigenous people from all over the country could learn these food traditions and bring them home. When the pandemic stalled the center’s opening, the Food Lab team got to work. In response to the rise in food insecurity and the murder of George Floyd, the staff began training a team of 15 cooks and preparing meals for nearby tribal communities.

“We are trying to kick out a thousand meals a day to feed the tribal communities around us,” Thompson told FoodPrint in 2020. Dishes, which featured ingredients from Indigenous producers such as Ramona Farms, included bison and hominy stew, smoked duck pozole and walleye cakes with pepita pesto. “Every single one of these recipes,” Thompson explained, “is packed with foods that are truly anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense and there to really nourish, physically, spiritually, emotionally in every way.”

Understanding true Native American history and food

For Tulsa-based Indigenous chef and consultant Nico Albert, Thanksgiving time is valuable for widening the conversation around the true story of the holiday — and Indigenous people in a modern context. “It’s definitely a conflicted holiday,” she says, explaining that she has many friends who call the holiday “Thanks-taking.” While gathering families together, sharing big meals in fellowship and reflecting on the things you are thankful for generally reflect Indigenous values, Albert explains how important it is to know where the holiday came from.

“I think a mutual appreciation for everything that Indigenous people have endured [is necessary], in the same way that we have so much education about the intrepid spirit of the pioneers,” Albert says. “We need to balance that out with the incredible resiliency of the Indigenous people of this land, to still exist and still have our traditions.”

Albert teaches cooking classes to the local Indigenous community, with a focus on Native ingredients and techniques — but she also spreads information about Indigenous culture to a larger network, catering dinners, events and corporate retreats. “We get to reach a wider demographic of audience that needs to hear these stories and have questions that need to be answered,” says Albert, who has cooked at Tulsa institutions like the Philbrook Museum of Art. “That kind of builds a bridge between our communities and improves the visibility of Native people in a contemporary context. That’s always excellent.”

One way to build that bridge on your own is learning about the history of the land you live on. Research the Indigenous nations that have been in your area for generations. As chef and NĀTIFS co-founder Sean Sherman told Time magazine, “No matter where you are in North America, you are on indigenous land.”

You can also support Native growers and local organizations working to improve food sovereignty. “I urge people to explore a deeper connection to what are called ‘American’ foods by understanding true Native-American histories,” Sherman continued in the Time interview. Looking at that history, and the Indigenous approach of only using what you need and replenishing what you take, it’s clear that by supporting Indigenous food systems, we can support a more sustainable food system overall.

“There are so many tribes and Indigenous individuals that have different foods and gift items that you can purchase that directly support tribal organizations or a Native individual’s family,” says Albert, “like native rice from the Chippewa people or maple products from some of the tribes in the northeast. When you buy those products, not only are you supporting those people, you are supporting the proper maintenance of that land.” One of her favorites is the Tanka Bar, a bison-berry bar made with ethically sourced bison, based on a staple food used by the Oglala Lakota when traveling. You may not find these ingredients at your local grocer, but Albert links to many Indigenous products on her website.

A meal that centers the Indigenous story

Turkey, cranberries and pumpkin pie have become the nationwide standard on the Thanksgiving table. But these items aren’t seasonally available everywhere, and especially around Thanksgiving are often tied up in the problems of industrial farming and its impact on the environment, public health and animal welfare — issues that directly impact Indigenous communities and foodways.

“There’s no reason food should be traveling for a thousand miles, or that I should be able to buy pineapple in the middle of Minneapolis,” says Thompson. Instead of buying out of season because a recipe calls for a certain ingredient, she suggests looking at the damage caused by factory farms and monocultures, and instead supporting a sustainable, microlocal food system: “I think Thanksgiving is a time to look away from [factory farmed food], figure out where our dollars are spent and make some reparations.”

Albert also suggests purchasing ingredients for your holiday table — such as the cornmeal for your cornbread — from Indigenous producers. “What a great conversation piece for a non-Native family to say, ‘I bought the cornmeal from the Ute people in Utah, or I bought this corn from Ramona Farms in Arizona,’” she explains. “‘The cornbread itself is so much more nutritious, and I supported this tribe, and isn’t that cool?’”

As Sherman explains in a feature for The New York Times, “The true foods of North America may not be available at every grocery store or even online, and they are not coming from industrial farms: They are seasonal and vary from region to region. To experience true Indigenous foods is to explore the many different ecosystems of plants and animals wherever you are.” Even if you can’t source Indigenous ingredients, whether you cook traditional Native recipes, make old standbys or try new recipes , if you center local, seasonal foods, you will be experiencing a more Native meal.

Top photo: Food is prepared at the Indigenous Food Lab in Minneapolis, part of its work providing meals to nearby tribal communities during the pandemic. Photo by Dana Thompson.