A land of rich traditions; How Indigenous chefs are looking to traditions to heal BY SABRINA KOOISTRA
M
Phantom Creek
ohkínstsis (Calgary) and Amiskwaciy Waskahikan (Edmonton) were once gathering places. Wild saskatoons grew, buffalo roamed, and Mother Nature gave birth to rich traditions passed down for centuries – traditions connecting the land to people and people to each other. In Alberta, sundrying meat like pemmican (dried meat and berries pounded together) was ideal for journeys, vegetables and medicinal herbs flourished, and buffalo gave food, clothing, and tools. Food was cherished and respected. Wasting nothing was the way of life. But European settlement devastated First Nations’ traditions. Canned foods and rationing replaced the abundance of the grasslands. The territory Indigenous peoples roamed and reaped from for centuries was taken and abused. The path forward was stricken with trauma.
28 Culinaire | June 2021
Chef Scott Iserhoff
For many Indigenous chefs, food has become a medicine. The lack of Indigenous representation in the culinary world has become an opportunity to pursue a future of their own creation, showcase traditions, and reconnect to some of what’s been lost. In the spirit of preserving elder knowledge, Chef David Wolfman of the Xaxali’p First Nation embraces sharing and teaching. As a Culinary Arts professor and the star of “Cooking with the Wolfman,” he created a niche he calls “Indigenous Fusion” where he uses Mother Nature’s offerings and his creativity to shape the way we understand Canadian food. The process of healing is beginning – for many Indigenous chefs – by turning back to Mother Nature. For Chef Scott Iserhoff of Pei Pei Chei Ow (pe-pe-s-chew), watching wild meat smoke over the fire and hearing his family’s stories was normal, but as
he grew, Iserhoff pushed his culture aside. It wasn’t until culinary school that something clicked. He was tired of cooking foods from other places and found himself calling home to ask about jam and bannock. Memories of picking berries and honouring the land flooded back. What was once ordinary became extraordinarily special. Because of his childhood curiosity, Iserhoff’s Moshom (grandfather) nicknamed him Pei Pei Chei Ow, the Omushkegowin word for the robin. Iserhoff laughs about how much it annoyed his Moshom how much he talked, but it’s his curiosity that’s reacquainted him with the past. Paying tribute to his Attawapiskat roots, Iserhoff, along with his wife Svitlana Kravchuk, cater events in the spirit of mino pimatisiwin: embracing “the good life.” Using local wild meats and traditional and post-colonial ingredients is part of this process.
