A gathering basket ISSUE 1
FROM THE I-COLLECTIVE A MULTI-MEDIA COOK BOOK
INTRODUCTION & HISTORY We live in a time when food access, under the system of capitalism, is at an all-time high but, the pseudo “foods” being offered are contributing to a health pandemic within Indigenous, and other marginalized communities, at a rate 3 times higher than society at large which leads us here at the I-Collective to ask, “What can we do about it?” and since Indigenous Foodways have guided each of us to each other, and to you, creating a platform that is accessible, educational, and from our communities was the only answer. Over the course of this year, and through 2022, we will be launching our online cookbook project featuring online webinars, community stories, live cooking demos, and of course recipes!
But what is a recipe?
Is it ingredients, measurements, oven temperature, and science or is it place, time, culture, and cosmology that define it? These, as well as environmental, social, and racial structures, are some of the questions we will be confronting as we explore both the historical and current context of Indigenous Foodways and look to bridging the pre-colonial and our modern world.
So, what does that look like in real time?
Let us find out by looking at the plant relatives for our first recipe offering, which comes from the Southwest region, and seem to be destined for this conversation by mapping the discussion through what can be taught by our interaction with them. For instance, we are going to discuss 3 Leaf Sumac in terms of racism, Yucca Fruit in terms of Ancestral Knowledge, and Chiltepin in terms of Indigenous Agriculture.
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3 LEAF SUMAC: RACISM I can see you asking yourself what a sumac berry could possibly have to do with race, and that is a legitimate question but, first let me share what was taught to me about our relationship to them. In what is now called the Animas River Valley, located in southwest Colorado, and traditional homelands of Ute and Dine people, there are vast stretches of sumac along the river. When I first went harvesting with Dine relatives many years ago, they told me of a time, not so distant to the elder who told the remembrance from childhood, when the tribal women would gather here to camp and collect, what is known in the Dine language as Chilchin, over the course of a couple weeks. She spoke of songs shared, and composed for, these relatives that would echo miles down the valley, letting the other plants know the Asdzaa’ (women) were here to fulfill their commitments to them for another season, and offerings of water and prayer were made. It is in this beauty that I was taught, with those songs still echoing on the winds today when I gather, about these relatives that are ever present in traditional cuisine, so imagine how it felt when in my studies that it came to light that they were referred to as “squaw” berries in the white culture surrounding me, and while there is plenty of debate about the origin of the word, there is no debate about me hearing it used as an insult from white children in the hallways at the bordertown elementary school I spent part of my childhood in and we can only look to unpacking more spaces of Environmental Racism as this project moves along and how we can confront them.
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Yucca: Ancestral Knowledge
Now moving into the realm of Ancestral Knowledge we take a glimpse at one of the most utilized plants of both the high and low deserts of the region, yucca. With uses from shoes with soles woven in familial patterns, to basket weaving, needle and thread for sewing, and soap to wash hair and clothes this is the essential plant to know here. Yucca fruits, sometimes referred to as the desert banana, are a blood sugar stabilizer for us while providing nourishment for birds, foxes and coyotes, and our ant relatives. Prior to this the flowers pollen will nourish bats and their symbiotic moth.
We refer to the fruits as blushing when they are ripe because of the pinkish tint the skin gets but with the current shift in climate locally (we are seeing desertification at one of the highest rates in the country) what was once the traditional knowledge handed down is seeing a shift as well, which leads us back to the ants. While occasionally we do still see some of the fruits blushing it is far more important to watch the ant’s interaction with them to know when they are ripened because as soon as they have sweetened, they will bore into them and feast.
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Lastly the chile known as Chiltepin, from the Nahuatl language “chilli tecpin” which translates to “flea chile” because of its miniscule size and is known as the genetic grandmother of all cultivated chiles so I am sure you can see why this is the perfect place to touch on Indigenous agricultural history. This chile grows in the wild from southern Mexico to southern Texas and Arizona, having protected status in the Tumacacori Mountains at the Wild Chile Botanical Area, and has its place in many Indigenous cosmologies in the region. Used for both food and medicine it defines both. Now think about the statement “genetic grandmother of all cultivated chiles” and let that sink in! That means with literal dozens of chiles available throughout tribal nations at the time of colonization tribes had been breeding them for hundreds, if not thousands of years already, and if we choose to look at it Chiltepin has thoroughly Indigenized the diets of most of the world and I believe as we move towards reclamation of our original lifeways, and away from industrialized foodways, this elder will have more to share. Much like the recipe attached we see this as a living document and a place for constant movement so for those in the Midwest and on the East Coast this is easily transformable into use with Staghorn Sumac and Maple Sugar or Pawpaw fruit, while those with access to a grocery store can readily acquire sumac, chile, and a sweetener in the spice isle, or easily reimagine it completely. One of the beauties of Indigeneity is the resilience of our ancestor’s knowledge systems and ability to adapt and so as we enter this journey together, we hope these glimpses into regional tribal foodways will bring you to engage with the information provided, to offer your own stories, memories, and voice to this project because this is only important if the voices and traditions of our communities are leading the way.
Chiltepin: Indigenous Agriculture
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POWDERED YUCCA FRUIT 7 Steps to Make: Harvest yucca fruit Rinse Fire Roast Peel Deeseed Sun dry or dehydrate Grind
“They taste like ancestral memory freshly harvested from the Southwestern Indigenous Landscape.” M. Karlos Baca
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3 LEAF SUMAC POPSICLE RECIPE Serves 8 Ingredients: 2 Cups Water | 4 Tbsp 3 Leaf Sumac Powder 2 Tbsp Yucca Fruit Powder | 1-2 Chiltepin Chiles (crushed) Pinch Salt
Method: Combine all ingredients in saucepan Bring to a Boil Turn off heat and steep for 5 minutes Strain juice Fill popsicle molds and freeze Once frozen roll popsicles in sumac powder Enjoy! PAGE 9
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Gratitudes Contributors: Taydyn Muniz Staff: M. Karlos Baca Britt Reed Trennie Collins
Quentin Glabus Kristina Stanley
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