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/