Toasted Sister Podcast

I partnered up with Eater magazine to include Pueblo bread in their Guide to the Southwest. In the process of writing this article, I took a journey through some of the Pueblos in New Mexico to learn about Pueblo bread. This episode includes voices from bakers from Jemez, Taos, Zuni and Laguna Pueblos. Link to "The Wondrous Bread of the Pueblo Nations" article: https://www.eater.com/2019/1/23/18183970/zuni-bread-pueblos-new-mexico Visit the episode at ToastedSisterPodcast.com for more photos

In this episode, I talk with Curtis Basina (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians), owner of the Copper Crow Distillery in Wisconsin about stereotypes, vodka drinks and what repeal of prohibition could mean for tribes. Yes, I said “prohibition.” Did you know that up until December 2018 tribes were banned from operating distilleries on reservations? A law changed that so tribes are able to open distilleries if they want to.

For this special episode I take a road trip to El Paso, Texas where I learn more about Mexican food and the Indigenous food culture at this stretch of the border. You’ll hear from Rick Quezada, cultural preservation director at Ysleta del Sur Pueblo, Lorena Andrade, director of La Mujer Obrera and Rubi Orozco Santos, poet and public health educator. Photo: “The Equis” monument that stands over Cuidad Juárez near the border was made by Mexican sculpture Enrique Carbajal González. It symbolizes the intersection of Indigenous people of Mexico and the Spanish.

Native American Natural Foods makes Tanka Bars, the first brand of bison meat bars, experienced a couple of ups and downs in business since it started in 2006. But since competition from non-Native companies swept up all the investments and money in the last couple of years, Tanka Bar is left to restructure its brand. In this episode, I talk with Mark Tilsen, president and co-founder of Native American Natural Foods. The New Food Economy article: “Bison bars were supposed to restore Native communities and grass-based ranches. Then came Epic Provisions.”

In this special episode I report from the first Southwest Intertribal Food Summit in Taos, New Mexico. It was a two-day event filled with good food and knowledge sharing between Southwest Natives who are working in the food sovereignty movement. Visit ToastedSisterPodcast.com to see photos from this trip. In the episode: Lilian Hill from Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute, Terrol Dew Johnson from the Tohono O’odham Community Action group, Tiana Suazo with the Taos County Economic Development Corporation, Julio Saqui, owner of Che’il Mayan Products, Taos governor, Gilbert Suazo Sr., Tammy Sandoval with Tiwa Kitchen and Rowen White with the Indigenous Seed Keepers Network.

In this special episode I hand the reins over to my real sister, Alisha Murphy (Diné). She went to the World Indigenous Business Forum in New Zealand and came back with some T-shirts for our parents, some keychains for her friends and some audio for me. Alisha made some new Maori friends and naturally talked about food with them. Hey, it runs in the family.

Towana Yepa (Jemez Pueblo) comes from a family of gardeners. She’s a business woman who owns and operates her own farm called Corn Pollen Trail Farms in Ponderosa, New Mexico. In this episode, she talks about her origins, the challenges of being an Indigenous woman farmer and filling a need for fresh options in her Native community. I also talk with Tina Archuleta (Jemez Pueblo), owner of Itality: Plant Based Wellness (rapper who goes by MagmaDawta), a health food business that also fills a need for fresh food in the same community.

Brit Reed (Choctaw) is a cook, culinary service provider for Tulalip Health Clinic in Washington and a member of the I-Collective. She’s sort of new to the world of Indigenous culinary arts but she’s well on her way to making changes in the Native community. In this program we talk about the role of Choctaw women and how food helps her connect to her culture as an adoptee.

In this episode, I hit the road and talk with some folks at the 6th annual Apache Harvest Festival at the Ndée Bikíyaa farm in Canyon Day, Arizona. On this show: Onah Ditzer, farm education coordinator at Ndée Bikíyaa Rachel Beauty, Apache culture intern for the Yavapai Apache Nation Shalitha Peaches, distribution manager for Ndée Bikíyaa Nephi Craig, Café Gozhóó Andrea Batty Emery Hoffman, White Mountain Apache Tribe water resources Dezeray Garcia

The non-Indigenous owners of Aloha Poke Co., a Chicago-based restaurant, trademarked the words “Aloha Poke” and became the new face of cultural and food appropriation. In this episode, Dr. Kalama Niheu (Kanaka Maoli) talks about how a long history of cultural appropriation allows for this to continue to happen to Indigenous people, the problem with paradise and how the popularity of poke took this traditional food to interesting and scary places. Also: —Native America Calling Aug. 6 episode about trademarking Indigenous words and images featuring Dr. Niheu and Tasha Kahele. —A protest is planned for Aug. 15 at the Aloha Poke Co. location in Chicago.

Eric Richards (Navajo) has a business degree and originally had plans to get into the Native jewelry business. But fate took him straight to the kitchen and up the ranks. He’s the executive chef of the Twin Arrows Casino Resort near Flagstaff, Ariz. In this episode, I sit down with chef Richards at Zenith Steakhouse and we talk about the restaurant business at an Indian casino, future plans and Native American Beef. See photos from this visit at ToastedSisterPodcast.com.

If you talk with Diné chef Josh Nez for any amount of time, he’ll mention his daughters. They’re the reason why he cooks. He’ll also throw in some Navajo language translations for “corn,” “salt” or “grandma.” Nez is a cook at the Pueblo Harvest Café in Albuquerque who got his start as a dishwasher. In this episode, we talk about mutton, the first foods he ever cooked and the best way to prepare prairie dogs. Also: Utah Dine Bikeyah 4th annual Bears Ears Summer Gathering, July 20-22 Visit ToastedSisterPodcast.com to see pictures from this recording.

Vernon DeFoe (Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) doesn’t have a glorious origin story. Like many chefs, his food journey starts at a fast food restaurant. But along the way he made a U-turn straight back to Indigenous food. He’s a chef de cuisine on The Sioux Chef team and the bassist for the crust punk band War//Plague. In this episode, Vernon talks about his great-grandmother’s cooking, what resistance looks like in the kitchen and the music of War//Plague. Links: https://warplaguepunx.bandcamp.com/ http://sioux-chef.com/ https://www.facebook.com/warplaguepunx/

It’s Saguaro fruit harvest season and that means members of the Tohono O’odham Nation are out this weekend picking that sweet, sweet fruit from the tops of those iconic Arizona cactuses. In this episode, I talk with Jacelle Ramon-Sauberan, Ph.D student in American Indian Studies at the University of Arizona and Tohono O’odham history and culture teacher at the Tohono O’odham Community College, about this centuries-old traditional harvest. Visit ToastedSisterPodcast.com for photos from Jacelle. Visit the I'oligam Youth Alliance's Facebook page for more info.

Shane Chartrand (Enoch Cree) has a particular kind of style that’s currently being projected on the interior of his new restaurant, SC Restaurant, which opens on June 12. It’s sexy, it’s casual, it’s a little upscale and it’s fun. He’s an award-winning chef who beat out some other top chefs in Canada to take home the gold from the Gold Medal Plates Edmonton competition. In this program, Chartrand talks about reconnecting to his Cree heritage, wine and his upcoming cookbook, “Marrow: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine.”

Kristina Stanley (Anishinaabe) is the owner of Abaaso, a plant-based food company based in Madison, Wisconsin. She’s also a member of the I-Collective (Indigenous, Inspired, Innovative, Independent Collective). For this episode, I visit Kristina in the kitchen at the Food Justice Symposium in Colorado to talk about her business, learning about Indigenous foods and being a woman in this industry. Visit ToastedSisterPodcast.com to see photos from this visit.

In this special episode I hit the road and visit a sheep camp near Shiprock, N.M. to talk with a sheep herder family and Aretta Begay (Diné), director of Diné be’iiná, or Navajo Lifeway, a non-profit group dedicated to preserving and strengthening Navajo sheep culture. Please visit toastedsisterpodcast.com and the Toasted Sister facebook page for photos from sheep camp. Also: Diné be’iiná will host their annual Sheep is Life Celebration on June 16 and 17, 2018 at Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona.

When Mariah Gladstone (Blackfeet) was a young girl, she had a dream about cookies and her mom helped her bring them to real life. She still dreams about food and turns them into recipes, only now, she produces her own little cooking show called Indigikitchen. In this episode, Mariah talks about the Blackfeet diet and how sacrifices from her ancestors paid for her existence. Info: https://indigikitchen.com/

Anna Sattler (Yupik) is an urban hunter and gatherer provider who can make a mean salmon dip and lots of other Alaskan dishes. She’s a chef and creator of “Anna’s Alaska: Off The Eaten Path,” a yet-to-be-filmed TV show with a pilot episode in the works. In this episode, we talk about Pilot Bread crackers, subsistence hunting in Alaska and stealing food from mice. Anna’s easy peasy salmon dip Ingredients: A couple of pressure cooked pint jars of half smoked salmon or kippered style frozen salmon Cream cheese A little mayonnaise A little sour cream Dill Chives Lemon juice Horseradish or finely chopped chile Directions: Add all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork.

In February, I attended the 2018 New Mexico Organic Farmers Conference in Albuquerque and met up with some Native farmers who are doing some really awesome things in their Native communities. In this episode, we talk about traditional farming, resilience, soil health and preservation. Photo: The Resilience Garden at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center via Bettina Sandoval. Voices: Bettina Sandoval (Taos Pueblo), cultural education specialist at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Nicholas Ashley and Shannon James, Diné farmers James Skeet (Diné) farmer and owner of Spirit Farm Akeemi Martinez (Diné), FVRX coordinator for the Community Outreach and Patient Empowerment program