Karkin, Patwin, Miwok, Wintun, Yocha Dehe, Cortina…do you recognize these names? These are some of the people who lived and still live on the lands we now know as Vallejo and Benicia. In fact, the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, along with the Kletsel Dehe and Cachil Dehe, have a historic government-to-government agreement and California’s first ever “cultural easement” to protect burial sites at the 15-acre park on the Glen Cove waterfront in Vallejo, part of their traditional ceremonial lands.
However, with the continued decline in diversity of agriculture and traditional Native foods comes a decline in the nutritional quality of our Native community’s diets. Not only that, many of these food traditions are being lost. Sadly, this brings with it many diseases which are becoming far too common, such as obesity and diabetes. Not only that, many of these food and cultural traditions are being lost.
Fortunately, there is a growing awareness of the importance of biodiversity and preserving traditional food sources. Professional Native American chefs are leading the way. Chef Sean Sherman—also known as the Sioux Chef—has written a cookbook and has cooking videos on YouTube. He founded the Indigenous Food Lab educational kitchen to train tribal communities on re-integrating traditional foods into their diets.
At CCFC, we envision having our own educational kitchen with culinary teachers from throughout our incredibly diverse population. This intention is rooted in our co-operative principles, specifically Principle 5 (Education, Training, and Information) and Principle 7 (Concern for the Community). In this setting, our varied, individual communities can learn more about their own traditional foods, and we as a whole can learn more about each other through sharing this knowledge and delicious food. What a delicious way to Cultivate Community!
Sources:
Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation website: https://www.yochadehe.org
Digital map of native lands: https://native-land.ca/
FoodTank’s list of 20 important indigenous foods: https://foodtank.com/news/2016/07/indigenous-foods-historically-and-culturally-important-to-north-americ/