Watch Indigenous Chefs Share Culture, History and Delicious Cuisine Through ‘Resilience Recipes’ Series
They ate at the Smithsonian’s Mitsitam Native Food Café and other restaurants as part of their studies on native food sovereignty, a movement to reclaim and restore Indigenous food systems.
“I really loved the class, it was so interesting,” said Bianca Nolde-Lopez ’22, an anthropology major on a pre-med track, and sprinter on the women’s track and field team. “It was so eye-opening that all this Indigenous knowledge has been carried through oppression, and pandemics and so much else that was forced upon them.
“And yet they’re still here, creating this amazing artwork and food, so intricately weaving their history and culture into modern life.”
The pandemic forced Lewis to cancel plans to bring students to the May conference of the Native American and Indigenous Studies Association in Toronto. She and Stremlau collaborated on an alternate plan. Lewis proposed hosting “Food-preneurs”—the chefs putting a modern spin on Indigenous food. The