Through its American Indian Eatery and Indigenous Marketplace, Tocabe is making it easier for customers to enjoy Native and indigenous foods, no matter where they are located.
Photos courtesy of Tocabe
When we look at food traditions of Indigenous communities, the first thought is often how traditional systems have been disrupted — causing health disparities, among other challenges. But that initial focus may lead us to overlook the foundation of resilience and adaptation laid by Indigenous peoples, past and present. Today, a variety of approaches to achieving food security and sovereignty are flourishing.
Growing a Healthier Future
Two increasingly popular examples of technology informing self-sufficiency to revitalize food systems are hydroponics and aquaponics. Growers employ these methods of fertilizing using waste from fish raised with the plants (aquaponics) or applied nutrient mixes (hydroponics) to produce organic foods without soil and with much less water than conventional farming. Among them are Native-owned Symbiotic Aquaponic, which works with tribes to build customized set-ups (for more on Symbiotic Aquaponic see the Fall 2017 issue of Winds of Change). Another is Malama Waimānalo, helping Native Hawaiian families adopt culturally appropriate diets by bringing aquaponics systems to their backyards.
A singular example of a different effort to establish healthier, more sustainable food systems is Ben Jacobs, an Osage restaurateur and advocate for food sovereignty who was appointed to the President’s Council on Sports, Fitness, and Nutrition in March. With his business partner, Matt Chandra, Jacobs co-owns Tocabe, a restaurant in Denver specializing in Indigenous cuisine. They also provide food directly to consumers and tribes via the Tocabe Indigenous Marketplace, which sources from Native suppliers, and the work of their nonprofit, Seed to Soul, which provides direct-to-tribe offerings.
Matt Chandra (left) and Ben Jacobs, co-owners of Tocabe — An American Indian Eatery in Denver, Colo.
A Cyclical Food System
Between planting the seeds and presenting the prepared food is a world of shipping and logistics — the inner-workings of a food system. Jacobs and his colleagues are using their expertise in food sourcing and distribution to build a sustainable supply chain that makes traditional ingredients and meals available for Indigenous community members, no matter where they are.
Making that happen entails many journeys. When Jacobs and his colleagues travel from Denver to Spirit Lake in central North Dakota, for example, they pass through the communities of Rosebud, Pine Ridge, Standing Rock, and Cheyenne River. Describing his guiding philosophy, Jacobs asks, “How can we find ways to drop food in each community on that path?” The goal is to leave something in each community and to partner with them. Jacobs believes that by learning what each community needs — and what they can contribute — a more connected food system focused on supporting and nourishing Native communities can emerge.
Building Traditional Food Systems
Jacobs may be a food professional, but he is not there to prescribe what communities should do. “The beauty of the food system is that everyone does something specialized to themselves,” he explains. “Why would I go to Red Lake, where they are amazing at growing wild rice, and say ‘I need you to start raising buffalo for me?’” Instead, the Tocabe approach to building a food system is asking “What do you do? What would you like to do? How can we help develop that into something that’s important to you?”
Serving Up Tradition
Jacobs admits that although he’s committed to Indigenous foods, he still loves pizza and an occasional bowl of Cap’n Crunch. Still he emphasizes the importance of “eating with tradition” and points out that getting started doesn’t necessarily require a full plate of culturally appropriate foods.
Any family-style meal can be a beginning, and setting out to intentionally connect with one another can make any meal special. Jacobs notes that for Osage people this scenario describes “a feast meal,” where diners gather at a long table, talking and sharing what they have. When coming together around the table becomes a once — or twice — a week habit, Jacobs suggests adding some traditional ingredients from a Native producer. What matters is moving toward the healthy traditional meals you want.
After 15 years of doing the work, Jacobs and his team are now able to be flexible in supporting Native farmers and honoring their shared goals. If a farmer wants a product to remain hyperlocalized to their community, Jacobs respects that. For Jacobs, bringing Native suppliers to the marketplace pays off in the knowledge that his effort is rewarded. “It’s going to people who believe in what you do,” he says. “And now it pushes you into next year to know that you can do this again. I want farmers to know that they can go into next year without the fear of loss.” Jacobs’ message to Native suppliers is “my goal is to help you continue the passion that is important to you and your community.”
Decolonizing the Thanksgiving Menu
The Thanksgiving national holiday is based on the 1621 occasion where the Pilgrims shared a harvest meal with their Wampanoag neighbors. Eyewitness accounts describe a spread featuring unspecified fowl, berries, and other items gathered by the Pilgrims, while the Wampanoags contributed venison.
Our present-day Thanksgiving feast, with its typical turkey, potatoes, green beans, and cranberry sauce, doesn’t fully represent the original feast and omits much of the diet of the Wampanoag and other Indigenous tribes. While the portrayal of harmony between tribes and colonists is controversial, we can Indigenize the holiday by celebrating our own customs and incorporating more traditional foods, showing gratitude to our elders, and preserving our individual cultures.
Consider replacing the turkey centerpiece with game favored by your tribe. Bison may be the choice of Plains tribes, while salmon may be a more comfortable cultural fit for West Coast tribes — especially considering the first Thanksgiving likely included seafood. As native to Wampanoag lands, cranberries can remain on the plate, but they were traditionally consumed raw and fresh picked, not sweetened and jellied. Pemmican, a mix of berries and dried meat, could be a traditional presentation of cranberries that can be savored for weeks as watecá (the Lakota word for leftovers).
Because potatoes (white and sweet) had not yet arrived in North America, they were not part of the first Thanksgiving. But many tribes consumed other plant roots like Indian turnips and groundnuts (peanuts). Starchy root vegetables were used by tribes throughout North America, sometimes turned into flour for making bread.
The “three sisters” (corn, beans, and squash) were traditionally grown together and would make an excellent addition to the meal. However, in 1621 corn was ground into flour and cooked — it was not the variety we have today with the large, soft kernels.
Besides decolonizing the menu, let’s also consider replacing Black Friday shopping with traditional ceremonies. Perhaps the most appropriate choice would be honoring those who were lost to the effects of colonization, those who bravely survived, and those who are currently rebuilding and reviving our Native nations.
— Dr. Tyler J. Rust