Gastropod

What Is Native American Cuisine? (Encore)

Nov 22, 2022
Diane Wilson, a master gardener from the Rosebud Sioux Reservation and director at Dream of Wild Health, shares insights into the revival of Native American cuisine. She discusses why these traditional dishes were marginalized and how farmers and chefs are working to bring them back. Topics include the significance of heirloom seeds, the role of indigenous restaurants, and the health benefits of returning to a Native diet. Wilson also highlights the challenges faced in cultivation and the debate surrounding fry bread, stressing the movement towards food sovereignty.
Ask episode
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
ANECDOTE

From Government Cheese To Sioux Chef

  • Sean Sherman grew up on Pine Ridge Reservation eating government-distributed processed foods and occasional traditional wild foods.
  • He later founded Tatanka Truck and now opens an indigenous-only restaurant to revive local Native cuisines.
INSIGHT

Colonization Broke Food Systems

  • Forced relocation and reservation policies destroyed Indigenous food systems by cutting people off from their lands and resources.
  • That loss restructured diets toward government rations of flour, sugar, and lard, driving chronic health decline.
INSIGHT

Structural Barriers To Healthy Eating

  • Displacement, boarding schools, and poverty erased food knowledge and access across reservations.
  • Today many reservations lack running water, refrigerators, and nearby grocery stores, worsening diet-related disease.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Get the app