Toasted Sister Podcast

I’ve been really digging Native poetry lately and I thought I’d gather a few poems about food. In this short episode, Native writers recite food poems about foreign foods, frybread, seeds and ancestral wisdom. Voices are Tiffany Midge, Taté Walker, Donell Barlow and Rubi Orozco-Santos.

This is the death and food episode where I talk with Indigenous death doula, Chrystal Waban, about her work with Blackbird Medicines and the Indigenous Death Doula Collective and how food is connected to this very important journey for those who are dying, for those who are dead and for those they leave behind. Also in this episode are stories about death and food by: Dale Jones (Tulalip), Tipiziwin Tolman (Dakota and Lakota) and Melissa Baehr (Anishinaabe Ojibwe).

Do you know who picked the cabbage and celery you find at the grocery store? It might’ve been an Indigenous immigrant farmworker. In this episode, I visit with a couple of Indigenous immigrant farmworkers at Rio Grande Farm Park in Alamosa, Colorado to learn about their journey here and why they left Guatemala. I also speak with Dr. Giovanni Batz, social anthropologist focusing on Maya migration, displacement and diaspora, Guatemalan history, Indigenous movements and human rights, to learn more about why so many people migrate here; and why so many Indigenous people are displaced from their lands in Latin America.

Dr. Batz mentions Gofundme fundraisers for Hurricane Eta relief:

"Maya communities need help – Hurricane Eta"

"Urgent need for Maya people due to Hurricane Eta"

"Collection for Victims of Eta Hurricane in Nebaj"

Dr. Batz also suggests “Indigenous Communities on the Frontline as Two Climate Change-Fueled Hurricanes Slam Central America” from “Democracy Now!”

Thanksgiving is a lie.

In this episode I talk with three Wampanoag women about Thanksgiving and how colonization effected their foodways. We’ll also talk about the awesome work they’re doing in their East coast communities to educate and revitalize Wampanoag food. Guests are chef Sherry Pocknett from Sly Fox Den Restaurant, Danielle Hill, educator and cultural consultant with Heron-Hill LLC., and Talia Landry, production coordinator for Mashpee TV.

There’s nothing like a good beer—for me that’s a cold, citrusy and bitter IPA—and for those who appreciate the brews from their local breweries, beer is more than alcohol. Craft beer is a whole vibe and culture. In this episode, I talk with the founders of Bow & Arrow Brewing Co., Shyla Sheppard (Mandan, Hidatsa, Arikara) and Missy Begay (Navajo), about starting from scratch, foraging for beer ingredients and their branding and aesthetic.

My favorite color is black. That also means I have a fascination with black-colored foods. Indigenous foods come in all kinds of colors including black. In this episode, chefs Tawnya Brant (Kanyen'kehá:ka), David Smoke-McCluskey (Mohawk) and Andrea Murdoch (Andean Native) and farmer, Cherilyn Yazzie (Diné) talk about the black foods in their kitchens and farms.

Mentioned:

Indigo-Show art show, September 26 + 27

This podcast episode is a 20-minute preview of “Indigenous Roots: Exploring the Crossroads of African American and Indigenous American Cuisine,” an online two-part event hosted by the Museum of Food and Drink on Aug. 5 and 6. Guest chefs, Yusuf Bin-Rella of Trade Roots Culinary Collective, Elena Terry (Ho-Chunk), executive chef and founder of Wild Bearies, and chef Dave Smoke-McCluskey (Mohawk), will speak about the ways in which both cuisines have influenced each other in the context of the social reasons that early African American and Native American cultures came together out of necessity. This necessity, in turn, created a beautiful cuisine that is now part of the American food lexicon and continues to evolve.

Where: Zoom

When: Talk on Wednesday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Afro-Indigenous virtual food demonstration on Thursday, Aug. 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Tickets: $15 general admission for Aug. 5 panel discussion, $40 for the cooking demo on Aug. 6, and $45 for the panel and cooking demo.

Info: MOFAD.org

When I visited Paul Natrall (Suquamish) in his Mr. Bannock food truck in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, I wasn’t expecting to get a taste of some of the most delicious pizza I ever had. I did and that was also my first taste of bannock, an Indigenous flour-based bread (kind of like frybread). In this episode, I talk with chef Paul about bannock, how he got hooked on culinary arts and a new Indigenous group called Indigenous Culinary of Associated Nations.

More photos at ToastedSisterPodcast.com.

In this special episode, I talk with seven Indigenous people working in the food industry about how they are being affected by COVID-19.

On the show:

Nico Albert, executive chef of Duet Restaurant

Crystal Wahpepah, owner of Wahpepah’s Kitchen

Spring Alaska, owner of Sakari Farms

Inez Cook, owner of Salmon n’ Bannock

Zach Johnston, writer and editor at Uproxx

Kelsey Ducheneaux, owner of DX Beef

Michelle Crank, executive director of communications for Navajo Gaming Enterprise

In this special episode, I visit with Chef Maria Parra Cano in her food truck, Sana Sana. We share a nice, plant-based dinner and then we talk about labels, her mom’s recipes and food as medicine. Recipe below.

Verde smoothie

1 cup nopales, diced

1 cup pineapple, diced

¼ cup cilantro, diced

2 tablespoons chia seeds

½ cup water

1 cup raw spinach

Agave and ice to taste

Add everything to a blender and blend until smooth. Drink raw or freeze like sherbert or popsicles.

sanasanafoods.com