Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America

I'm hoping people here can tell me more about this book, which looks really interesting.

"Uncover the stories behind the foods that have linked the natural environments, traditions, and histories of Indigenous peoples .. for millennia"
by Sean Sherman

https://seansherman.com/sean-sherman-new-book-turtle-island-foods-and-traditions-of-the-indigenous-peoples-of-north-america/

from your link:

Now a leading figure in the Indigenous food movement, he shares in Turtle Island the unique and diverse Native foodways of North America through both traditional and modern recipes made with ingredients that have nourished Indigenous peoples physically, spiritually, and culturally for generations.

(zip)

Exemplifying how Native foodways can teach us all to connect with the natural world around us, Turtle Island features rich narrative histories and spotlights the communities producing, gathering, and cooking these foods, including remarkable stories of ingenuity and adaptation that capture the resilience of Indigenous communities.

It does look rather interesting. I imagine it could help in developing recipes for less usual forest garden and foraged ingredients.

I have eaten at Sean's restaurant and loved it. I have his first book but haven't really read it thoroughly. I followed his video when learning to nixtamalize with wood ash instead of lime. I haven't read that book, though I just put it in my shopping cart for more research. I'd bet it's a good and useful read.

Yes, anyone who likes to eat out and finds themselves in Minneapolis should make a reservation at Owamni. Excellent food and, while not cheap, the prices do seem about right for stuff that doesn't come off of a Sysco truck.

It is interesting to compare the Owamni experience to my interactions with local tribal communities- the scars of their past treatment by government authorities that show in horrendous dietary habits. Sean's efforts to revive traditional foods into a fine dining atmosphere doesn't seem like an intuitive way to drive change at the more vernacular reservation level. I guess it is an inspiring activity to drive outreach efforts and hopefully a bridge can be built without abandoning their other traditional cultures outside of food sourcing...

Coydon Wallham wrote:It is interesting to compare the Owamni experience to my interactions with local tribal communities- the scars of their past treatment by government authorities that show in horrendous dietary habits. Sean's efforts to revive traditional foods into a fine dining atmosphere doesn't seem like an intuitive way to drive change at the more vernacular reservation level. I guess it is an inspiring activity to drive outreach efforts and hopefully a bridge can be built without abandoning their other traditional cultures outside of food sourcing...

Chef Sean Sherman was recently interviewed on the All My Relations podcast, hosted by Matika Wilbur (Swinomish and Tulalip) , and Temryss Lane (Lummi Nation): https://www.allmyrelationspodcast.com/podcast/episode/feed-your-people

He talks a lot about he grew up on a reservation, eating bulk food programme ingredients, and his long journey to reconnecting to Indigenous foodways.

Owamni is, as I understand it, and non-profit that directs c. USA$500,000 each year to Indigenous food producers.  They demonstrate & showcase Indigenous Turtle Island ingredients using traditional & novel food preparation techniques.They've also started an Indigenous food service for hospitals, schools & community centres.  They're working to support people across Turtle Island to build such community supporting systems.

This is though NATIFS - North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems: https://natifs.org/

Chef Sean Sherman is also getting Permaculture, and the Indigenous foodways it comes from, into wider discourse about sustainable futures

e.g.

"Land access is a massive hurdle.

"But consider what you could do with even three or four acres—that’s not much land.

"If a progressive city turned that over, you could build a food forest with Indigenous knowledge guiding the design.

"Following the principles of permaculture, you could have an extraordinarily diverse range of trees, garden plots, and seasonal harvesting."
https://www.guernicamag.com/after-hunger-in-conversation-with-sean-sherman/

We had (vegetarian) Dried Venison and Corn Salad from page 56 for dinner. I’m sure we’ll have it again.

Very interesting.  Does it include plant identification, caveats about seasonal considerations.  How much is it cook book?  And how much something else?

Christopher Weeks wrote:We had (vegetarian) Dried Venison and Corn Salad from page 56 for dinner. I’m sure we’ll have it again.

very nice - beans? and colourful corn

Nancy Reading wrote:

Christopher Weeks wrote:We had (vegetarian) Dried Venison and Corn Salad from page 56 for dinner. I’m sure we’ll have it again.

very nice - beans? and colourful corn :)

Anything you're seeing that looks like beans is actually hominy/posole. We have a big diversity of dried maize here and for this I suggested we mix it up to simulate "indian corn". The "venison" was a commercial vegan jerky seitan product. The big slabs are dehydrated apple and the black junk all over everything is ash of corn cob.

Thekla McDaniels wrote:Does it include plant identification, caveats about seasonal considerations.

Not much. In passing it tells you that wild carrots look like poison hemlock, but it is absolutely not teaching you to forage. Sherman recommends following Linda Black Elk and field guides written by natives. And then he recommends the usual suspects: Alan Bergo, Pascal Baudar, Alexis Nikole Nelson. I thought there was a Sam Thayer mention but I'm not seeing it now.

How much is it cook book?  And how much something else?

This is a great question. And it feels like it was designed specifically for my preference. Its DNA is 100% cook book. But it's extremely heavy on anecdote, options, history, personal experience, etc. So there's a lot to just read for fun in addition to the recipes.

Thanks, Christopher

I tried fried bread, with corn and beef or venison. Alot of Mexican indigenous food is similar to American indigenous I think. I love it. Reach out to tribes and ask them they are usually happy to share and may even give you a little something.