November is Native American Heritage Month, and thanks to a new cookbook by James Beard Award-winning Oglala Lakota chef, restaurateur, activist, and author Sean Sherman, you can celebrate by learning about Indigenous foodways and practicing decolonization in your own kitchen.
Hitting shelves Nov. 11, “Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America” includes more than 100 ancestral and modern recipes that Sherman presents with photos and stories demonstrating the links between the natural environments, traditions, and histories of Indigenous peoples across North America.
Courtesy of Penguin Random House
From the Northern Forests and Eastern Woodlands to the Great Lakes and beyond, each chapter in the book dives deep into the unique ingredients and culinary techniques used in each region—highlighting the importance of place and the ongoing movement toward food sovereignty.
Furthermore, a live celebration of Indigenous food, music, and storytelling will be held on Nov. 18 from 6:30–9:30 p.m. at the Guthrie Theater (818 S. Second St., Minneapolis). The event marks the cookbook launch and will feature a panel discussion, live music, and limited signed copies.
Ahead of the book’s release, we caught up with Sherman to ask a few questions about the lessons he hopes to pass on, the importance of preserving culinary traditions, and his favorite recipes.
Your book consists of over 100 ancestral and modern recipes from the Indigenous peoples of North America. Can you tell me a bit about the importance of preserving recipes from past generations, especially in Indigenous cultures?
“I think it’s really important for us to understand the diversity and complexity of Indigenous peoples, not only in North America but beyond. And because colonization disrupted so many of our food systems and it’s been very difficult to even find basic information on how we were processing foods, gathering foods, growing foods, it’s important for us to be true stewards of a lot of these foodways. And I think the more we’re able to learn from the past, the more that we can really apply it to right now, to think about a better future.”
What are a few lessons, skills, or philosophies you hope readers take away from this book and its recipes?
“I think it’s important, again, for people to see how much amazing diversity is here, because even in this book with its scope, we were barely able to scratch the surface. Every chapter literally could be its own book, if we wanted it to be. I’m hoping that people can walk away with a better understanding of how much we’ve underutilized the amazing food systems of the Americas, and also thinking about that on a much larger viewpoint for the world, where colonization has also affected Indigenous peoples globally.”
Courtesy of Penguin Random House
Do you have a few favorite recipes you can recommend for home cooks or beginners?
Pápa Waháŋpi—that one is really special to me, just because when we made that one, [it] just felt like home. It was so traditional, because it was only using like thíŋpsiŋla and dried prairie onions, pápa, which is bison jerky, and then just some wild greens for seasoning. It was so simple, but it was so hearty and good. That one’s almost the most traditional you can get with Lakota, so that one’s really special to me.
Some of these recipes, you’re not gonna find ingredients in your local Whole Foods, of course, because that wasn’t the point of the book. But… I think people will be surprised at how easy some of these are to make.
‘Turtle Island’ comes out Nov. 11, and you can preorder online now.
