I have fallen woefully behind on keeping you all up to date on all of the amazing food and garden related happenings in Indian Country! I’m going to work now on trying to get caught up, and at least getting all of the photos out there!
Kitchen crew at the 2018 Great Lakes Food Summit, photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Red Earth Gardens site, prepared for the conference. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Below I’ve featured photos of the buffalo butchering (informative, but you will see some blood and guts. I just want to note that the buffalo was killed and handled in a respectful way, and went on to feed hundreds of participants over the four days of the conference), as well as photos explaining the other workshops and meals that were included as part of the conference.
The conference began with a buffalo butchering workshop, with a young female buffalo from Dreesman Buffalo Ranch. Photo by Elizabeth HooverAfter the buffalo was shot, and then prayed over by participants, she was brought back to the conference site at the Meskwaki settlement. Arlo Iron Cloud, in the blue shirt, led the workshop with his wife Lisa Iron Cloud. Photo by Elizabeth HooverThen the process of skinning began under the instruction of Lisa Iron Cloud (black t-shirt). Photo by Elizabeth HooverVern Defoe skinning the buffalo. Photo by Elizabeth HooverArlo and Lisa skinning. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
I took a quick break from taking photos to get in on the skinning action.
Arlo and Lisa’s son helping with the buffalo skinning. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Carefully opening up the buffalo to remove the guts. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Leona removing the stomach. Photo by Elizabeth HooverNicole, Mary and Leona cleaning the caul, the layer of fat that was around the stomach, that was then used in cooking. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
buffalo heart
Rachael Austin holding buffalo lungs. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Kyle Jim and Sean Sherman helping Lisa Iron Cloud to cut the haunch away from the rest of the buffalo body. Photo by Elizabeth hooverKyle carrying the haunch away to be cleaned. Photo by Elizabeth HooverBrad Skennadore (standing in black shirt) holding the carcass and helping to remove the back strap. Photo by Elizabeth HooverAlan, Brad and Paul cutting apart the ribs. Photo by Elizabeth HooverArlo and his son cleaning intestine, that then went into the kitchen to make sausage. Photo by Elizabeth HooverWashing off the buffalo hide. Photo by Elizabeth HooverNicole Yanes scraping the buffalo hide. Photo by Elizabeth Hooverscraping the buffalo hide. Photo by Elizabeth HooverBuffalo tongue, simmering in ramps and chilis. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Leona cleaning out intestines. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Trimming the fat off the edge of the intestines. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Brian Yazzie stuffing spiced ground buffalo meat to make sausages. Photo by Elizabeth HooverKyle Jim stuffing buffalo sausage. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Reyna Davila Day serving up buffalo sausage. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Brian, Reyna and Leona with buffalo sausage. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Chef Loretta Barett Oden serving up bison meat for lunch. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Chefs Sean Sherman and Loretta Barett Oden serving up buffalo roast. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
In addition to buffalo meat, there was corn! Red Lake flint corn cooking in wood ash over the fire in order to help remove the hulls and make it more digestable.
scraping the eyes off
Dave Shananaquet stirs the pot. Potawatomi elder George Martin (in the black jacket) adds dried corn and wood ash in a 1:1 ratio, and boils until the “eyes” of the corn kernel come off. Photo by Elizabeth HooverPhoto by Elizabeth HooverJoe VanAlstyne pours the hominy and ash mixture onto a screen. Photo by Elizabeth HooverGeorge rinsing the hominy. Photo by Elizabeth HooverRinsing the corn– Blue Thurman holding the hose. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Rose Bear Don’t Walk cooking a Salish bitter root soup. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Rose holding bitter root, and her tattoo commemorating the plant
squirrel soup. Photo by Elizabeth HooverElena Terry stirring a milkweed blossom stew with amaranth flour dumplings. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Outdoor cooking in amazing iron kettles! Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Kevin Finney placing hot embers inside a birch log he’s hollowing out to become a bootagen. Photo by Elizabeth HooverPaul DeMain fanning the flames inside the bootagen in process. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Bootagen getting put to work, cracking hickory nuts that will be added to corn mush. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Jamie Betters from the Wisconsin Oneida cannery, leading a workshop on toasting corn over the fire. Photo by Elizabeth Hooverpounding corn after it has been toasted, to make corn mush. Photo by Elizabeth Hooverworkshop on making birch bark containers for holding seeds (and whatnot). Photo by Elizabeth HooverRowen and Clayton making a planting stick. Photo by Elizabeth HooverCaleb teaching about traps. Photo by Elizabeth HooverConstructing a longhouse. (Also, Donetta has the best laugh). Photo by Elizabeth HooverEven uncovered, the longhouse made a good meeting spot. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Tasha Smoke Santiago leading a pottery workshop.
Brad smoothes his pot
Tawnya
Tasha Smoke Santiago leading a pottery workshop. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Gary adding texture to his pot with a mini corn cob. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Lolly and Tasha showing off their pottery
Nikki
Tasha preparing a fire for some of the pots. Photo by Elizabeth HooverMohawk potter Tasha Smoke Santiago makes beautiful as well as functional pottery that can be used for cooking over fires. Photo by Elizabeth Hooverpottery by Tasha Smoke Santiago. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Oneida chef Arlie Doxtator uses traditional pottery made by his cousin in some of his cooking. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
In addition to all of the cooking going on in the kitchens, outside Daisy Kosta, a Cree elder, led a workshop in skinning and cooking some beavers that had been trapped locally. The beavers were stuffed with apple chunks and slow roasted over the fire.
Diasy (in the hat and striped apron) demonstrates how to skin the beaver. For anyone with a 12 year old boy sense of humor who is chuckling right now, her jokes can beat yours any day. Photo by Elizabeth HooverPhoto by Elizabeth HooverCleaning off the freshly skinned beaver, getting ready to stuff it with fruit and sew it back up. Photo by Elizabeth HooverCaleb hanging up the beaver. Photo by Elizabeth HooverPhoto by Elizabeth HooverAdding the last few stitches. Photo by Elizabeth Hooverbeaver feet and tail roasted over the fire. Photo by Elizabeth HooverPhoto by Elizabeth HooverSean and Brian preparing one of the beavers to be cooked in the kitchen. Brian rubbed it down with spices, grilled it, then stuffed it and baked it. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Kyle and Brian stuffing ramps inside the grilled beaver before it’s then baked in the oven. Photo by Elizabeth HooverRoasted beavers, ready to be carved up for dinner! Photo by Elizabeth HooverFeast of traditional foods! bottom left, acorn bread that Caleb cooked in a cast iron pot with coals; corn mush with strawberries; goose, squirrel and milkweed soup; and roasted beavers. Photo by Elizabeth HooverLinda Black Elk leading a foraging walk. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
Linda takes to the kitchen with plants found on the walk
ramp kimchee!
Seed Saving Workshop led by Rowen White and Clayton Brascoupe, who also led a series of discussions around community seed saving and seed rematriation. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover
There was also a constant flurry of activity in the kitchen to make sure everyone got fed three meals a day! Below we have Maizie with blue corn mush; Claudia with wild rice and cashew cheese stuffed peppers; Reilley with fried smelt, Sam with venison salami, pickled ramps and smoked steelhead; Tawnya with strawberry and orange drink and an assortment of berry and sweetgrass infused sorbets; Charles with blue corn dumplings and bison stew; Candy with a ‘beta carotene whip’ of parsnips and carrots; Felicia with dried apples with roasted red pepper and walnut topping; and Elena with her ‘sas-squash’ dish– squash custard with a maple marinated apple chip, candied pecans and wild cranberries.
buffalo meat, wild rice, smoked fish, fry bread, berry sauce, and a squash and micro greens salad. A little taste of Ben Jacob’s Tocabe restaurant at the food summit. Photo by Elizabeth Hoover (while someone tries to rob me of my lunch)
From Garden Warriors to Good Seeds: Indigenizing the Local Food Movement 
Big smiles! I love it.
Johnny