Culture

A Navajo Chef on the Complexities of Modernizing Native American Cuisine

July  4, 2017

In the culinary world, Native American food—let alone its various tribal iterations—is incredibly difficult to find, even amongst New York’s uncountable ethnic cuisines. Silverbird, New York’s most recognized Native American restaurant, shut its doors in 1989 after just under three years in operation, despite its novelty dishes (salmon jerky, blue corn soup) and showbiz ambiance (Paul Newman was familiar face).

To try Native American food, I had to travel to Mitsitam Native Foods Café in Washington D.C., at the National Museum of the American Indian. The fourth floor of the museum is dedicated to documenting the horrors of over 100 years of forced assimilation, plus many more of cultural erasure, of Native peoples. It makes me wonder if the relative absence of Native American food from the mainstream American palate—specifically the palates of a non-Native Americans like me—signifies the suppression of the wider culture, history, and struggles of Native American people. Our ignorance has resulted, however indirectly, in dire consequences, namely the Dakota Access Pipeline, which cuts through sacred Sioux land and threatens the area's water supply.

Back at the Cafe, I ate a Navajo taco made of thick fry bread covered in buffalo chili; hominy salad with watercress in a creamy sauce; and delicately flavored sautéed root vegetables that had a tender bite. Mitsitam showcases the flavors of five regional cuisines, adapted to modern tastes. The differences in bounty and technique between the areas are obvious: dishes from the Great Plains rely heavily on bison; the Northwest Coast inspires dishes like salmon in leek sauce over an indigenous quick bread called bannock, as well as roasted yellow beets in a seaweed vinaigrette. Atlantic clam soup, an ancestral version of the well-known clam chowder, and maple-brined turkey with blueberry sauce and braised kale, represent the cuisine of the Northern Woodlands. The Mesoamerican section resembles modern day Mexican food, with pinto beans, carne asada, and guacamole.

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To learn more about this menu and Native American cuisine, I sat down with Freddie Bitsoie, the executive chef at Misitam and ethnic Navajo—or Diné, as Bitsoie prefers to identify himself, as that word is actually derived from the Navajo language; it translates to "the people." (According to the National Park Service, "navajo" is derived from "nava hu," a Tewa-puebloan word meaning "place of planted fields.") Before arriving at Misitam, Bitsoie studied at the Scottsdale Culinary Institute and was the executive chef at a Navajo casino in Gallup, New Mexico, where he attempted to cook healthy foods to combat ailments like diabetes and obesity, which is high in Native populations. This was met with disinterest by the casino management, so he decided to travel across the country giving lectures about Native American culture at various organizations, like the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, and Yale University. He began working at Misitam in October 2016.

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Top Comment:
“The lack of knowledge of Native cuisine creates a void that can help heal the 500+ Indian nations become whole and healthy again. Get us away from the treaty foods that has caused such detrimental health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Growing up I ate lots of Navajo dishes at my grandparents' homes, such as blood pie with chili peppers, freshly grilled sheep intestines, fresh mutton stew, shredded deer jerky, blue cornmeal soup with wild onions that my grandmother had me gather up -- all delicious and crave when I go home to the Res. Lastly, please interview Sean, the Sioux Chef and Brian Yazzie (Navajo/Dine), for even more perspective of indigenous cuisine that they're exploring and bringing forth to everyone. Thanks.”
— Amber J.
Comment

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Chef Freddie Bitsoie

Native American cuisine is extremely underrepresented. Why do you think that that the public hasn’t yet gained appreciation for it?

As much as we claim we aren't racially or ethnically biased, food [gives us away]. We put labels and projections on our foods based on the ethnic identity of who eats them. [What is eaten] is based on where the culture stands, and it happens to be that most of Native culture, along with other ethnic cultures, are at the bottom of the food hierarchy.

What people are willing to pay for food is also based on this. Last night, I went to Carmine’s, and my group spent $500 and that was fine. If you sold Native American food for $500 dollars, people are going to ask, “Why?” French food is the same thing. It is expensive but no one argues about it. But when it comes to Ethiopian food, Native American food, Mexican food—foods that are based on cultures that aren't predominantly wealthy, people are going to ask, “Why are we paying so much for this?”

Can you describe to me some of the foods, ingredients, and techniques that are commonly used in Native culture?

Some ingredients in Native American cuisine are rare and hard to find. Cholla buds, which have an asparagus-like flavor, are the blossom of a cactus before they bloom into flowers. Around April, the tribes in the Sonoran Desert go out and harvest the buds. They then roast and dry them. The process of getting them is difficult. First of all, you're working with cacti. So even if there is a little gust of wind, the little glockets will blow up and they will get stuck to your face or arm. The desert is also 110 degrees on a good day and there are rattlesnakes. Saguaro seeds are the seeds of the fruit of a tall cactus, which have a very good, nutty flavor and are very high in calcium. They are like poppy seeds. So you can put them on muffins, and I usually crust quail with them.

For Native cuisine, the techniques are simple and aim to extract as much flavor as possible from the ingredients. There is a cooking technique that involves sautéing and steaming. For potatoes, for example, you just put a little bit of oil on the bottom of a pan and cook the potatoes until you get a crust on some of them. Then, you cover them with a lid to keep all the moisture in, steaming at the same time you are sautéing. It is a very weird technique that I did once for a French chef. His response was that I overcooked the potatoes. Native people also completely cook their onions to the point of them falling apart.

'Three Sisters' is an intelligent farming technique, but it is often framed as a cute story, feeding into this simplistic caricature of Natives

In early European cooking, spices were often needed not for flavor, but to cover the taste of spoiled food. In Native food cultures, it was understood that the animal is alive one day, dead the next, and completely consumed. Food was only preserved as far as making jerky, but it wasn’t stored. Aside from the Incas, everybody else killed the animal, picked what they needed, and ate it immediately. So there was no need for spices; there was no need for aromatics; there was no need to cover up anything.

What are some of the current misconceptions that you know people have about Native American cuisine, and how do you think they developed—considering the large unfamiliarity in this country with Native Food?

I think people need to be a little more educated about Native cuisine from something other than a humanities perspective. Take the “Three Sisters” crops, for example. Companion planting is actually an intelligent farming technique, but in humanities, it is often framed as a cute story, feeding into this simplistic caricature of Natives as “one with the Earth.”

People tend to think of Native food as boring, bland, grainy, and weird looking. It gets a bad reputation. I lived Albuquerque, New Mexico, a city that is surrounded by mountains and Indian reservations. There are at least six Indian tribes surrounding the city. One day, my co-worker saw some Pueblo [line cooks] and she said, "Freddie, come here. Can you just stand by me? I don't know if you are going to need to translate." And I told her, "But I don't speak their language." And she replied, "I thought you all spoke the same language." If someone can live in Albuquerque, where the the saturation of Indian culture is so obvious, and still not know each tribe is different, it is as much as they know about the culture and food. What it comes down to is that people just don't know enough. Whether they want to or not, I don't know. But they just don't know enough.

You have often said that your mission is to broaden the popularity of Native American cuisine. This means making it more palpable and comfortable to an audience that isn’t familiar. Why did you choose to combine Native ingredients with western ones and modernize Native cuisine, instead of adopting a cooking style that is more pre-colonial? How do you maintain authenticity?

I stopped referring to anything as authentic. I stopped this because Native food is like any other ethnic food, where “everybody's grandmother cooks better than the other.” It drives me crazy when people say this isn't Native enough or this is too Native. Where is the gauge? When people put a gauge on culture, it is very divisive. I constantly felt like I was trying to create an argument about food rather than just appreciating it and letting it take its force. Foods become extinct, something better comes along, something more efficient. Something will always change. And if we don't adhere to the change, especially in the food world, things become boring. And so far, with this particular way that I am presenting the authenticity of this food, nobody is questioning it. Nobody is saying, “This isn't Native.”

I realized that in order to make any type of change or make any type of impact, there has to be a little bit of danger. Otherwise, if you are safe and do everything from the past, you are just going to be a boring one-hit wonder. I will still make the traditional stuff, which I lecture about and teach, but there has always gotta be that new element. This is not grandma's food, but [includes] some of grandma's food.

Food is often seen as a very safe place to learn about and enjoy other cultures, but I personally always see a limit to this. For example, a racist grandmother who enjoys tacos is still racist. For you, where does the line stand between appreciation and appropriation? Is it problematic to enjoy a part of a group's culture, for example their cuisine, without having a true understanding of the history and struggles of that group?

I really don't put appropriation and food in the same sentence. Francis Ford Coppola opened a Native American restaurant and the Natives were up in arms about it. I celebrated it because it let me know that the movement is still happening and people are trying to make Native food popular. I make the best osso buco of anyone I know, and no Italian chef is coming to my door and saying, ”You can't make that." If it is the case globally that other people can cook other people's cultural foods, it should be the same for Native American food. When people say I am the first Native chef at the museum, it it true but this isn't a necessary position to be filled by a Native American. The only time I think it matters is when it is based on ceremonial purposes, but you will rarely find any non-Native person at a Native American ceremony, so that is highly unlikely.

In what way can popularizing Native cuisine give way to more discussion about Native culture and awareness?

Food was never meant to divide people, and we use it a lot to divide people. We use it a lot to tell stories that separate cultures. People are so caught up with being politically correct with the food and it drives me nuts. But helping people understand where the food is coming from, and how the food is cooked, makes more sense and it allows people to understand that there is a history.

When people come [to Mitsitam], they get good food, but the guests are also more than welcome to ask questions. I stress this all the time to the staff upstairs. If the guests have a question, I don’t want them to answer it. Call for me and I will go up there and personally explain it to them—whether it is allergies, history, or acquiring the ingredients. I think Native food is more popular now than it has every been. And when people experience Native culture in that capacity, they know it is still there and not going anywhere.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This interview was originally published in March 2017.

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52 Comments

Olive L. August 16, 2020
Interesting article, however I wished she would’ve chosen an actual indigenous native chef to interview! This man clearly was of Asian Filipino heritage and I honestly would not expect him to know anything about indigenous food! I guess if I said I was native and a chef then I would’ve gotten interviewed as well, right? So disappointing and I agree, an indigenous native author should’ve been the one to write and do the research because it would’ve come from a background of understanding and sensitivity and cultural connection, outsiders always appear to be hesitant and from a distance! But she did the best she could so at least it was published and that’s all that really matters!
 
Amber J. July 7, 2017
Great interview! The lack of knowledge of Native cuisine creates a void that can help heal the 500+ Indian nations become whole and healthy again. Get us away from the treaty foods that has caused such detrimental health issues such as diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Growing up I ate lots of Navajo dishes at my grandparents' homes, such as blood pie with chili peppers, freshly grilled sheep intestines, fresh mutton stew, shredded deer jerky, blue cornmeal soup with wild onions that my grandmother had me gather up -- all delicious and crave when I go home to the Res. Lastly, please interview Sean, the Sioux Chef and Brian Yazzie (Navajo/Dine), for even more perspective of indigenous cuisine that they're exploring and bringing forth to everyone. Thanks.
 
Michelle Y. July 7, 2017
Love that you published an article on this. I will definitely seek out Native American cuisine and recipes. Any recipes on Food52? I would love to try it!
 
luvcookbooks July 5, 2017
Great article!
 
Todd B. March 30, 2017
Great article/interview. Here in Denver, we are lucky to have a Native American restaurant (Tocabe), but I wish we had more. There are way too many styles to express in a single store.
 
Betsey March 27, 2017
They are Lakota. Be respectful and use the word they use.
 
Todd B. March 30, 2017
Are you referring to members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe?
 
Betsey April 3, 2017
The Standing Rock Lakota Tribe? Yes. I am.
 
Todd B. April 3, 2017
What about the Dakotas who live on the Standing Rock reservation? Sounds like you are discounting them. To say the pipeline cuts through Sioux land is correct because the land is part of the reservation, which is comprised of both ethnic Lakota and Dakota people. Besides, the legal entity that owns the land is called the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
 
Betsey April 3, 2017
That is the name the government assigned them. It is not what they call themselves.
 
Johnny R. March 27, 2017
Thanks you for this article! It was very informative, and is a subject that has been on my mind for the last couple of years. Very well written and informative.
 
btglenn March 26, 2017
I ate at a native northwest Indian restaurant in Vancouver years ago. Much of the food was different from the descriptions in this article because it depended on produce and seafood local to Northwest America (Canada and US). Native American food is not just from the Southwest or Middle American. Cajun cooking in the Louisiana area blended their cuisine with the Southern US Indians native to the area, while other Indian cuisine was centered on our Southeast coasts. It is unfortunate that this article does not expand on the differences that climate and location make for native American cookery, just as it does for any cuisine. While this interesting article does expand on a frequently neglected area of cookery, the article showed New York Citiy's often insular approach to broader topics.
 
Rajasri N. March 26, 2017
I am so upset you feel this way. There is so much that there is to save about Native cuisine and this interview definitely had to be condensed for other purposes. Freddie and I talked for over 2 hours and one of the most interesting things were the regional differences, which unfortunately I had to leave out. I definitely see this as a starting point and not as an ending and hope to continue learning about Native culture and food in the future.

As a non-Native I really tried to do the food justice but I do appreciate hearing about the shortcomings of this. As someone who lives(but is not Native) to NYC I understand the sentiment is insular perspectives and I'm really trying to break out of that and will def. keep this comment in mind in my future writing. Thank you. :)
 
TFR March 26, 2017
This article needed an editor, very badly, it's not really your fault. This is a unique subject, I wish a Native American would have been assigned to write this instead. Non-native people just don't have the picture unfortunately and spend so much time trying to come off respectful that they deliver something g with very little actual substance.
 
TFR March 26, 2017
This article needed an editor, very badly, it's not really your fault. This is a unique subject, I wish a Native American would have been assigned to write this instead. Non-native people just don't have the picture unfortunately and spend so much time trying to come off respectful that they deliver something g with very little actual substance.
 
TFR March 26, 2017
This article needed an editor, very badly, it's not really your fault. This is a unique subject, I wish a Native American would have been assigned to write this instead. Non-native people just don't have the picture unfortunately and spend so much time trying to come off respectful that they deliver something g with very little actual substance.
 
TFR March 26, 2017
This article needed an editor, very badly, it's not really your fault. This is a unique subject, I wish a Native American would have been assigned to write this instead. Non-native people just don't have the picture unfortunately and spend so much time trying to come off respectful that they deliver something g with very little actual substance.
 
Rajasri N. March 26, 2017
It had an editor and she was amazing and very sensitive to the subject, definitely approved upon what I initially wrote. I'm sorry you felt this way and again, I understand your sentiment.
 
Rajasri N. March 26, 2017
*improbed
 
Rajasri N. March 26, 2017
*improved
 
Betsey March 27, 2017
She was talking to a Southwest Indian chef. You cannot expect him to know everything about every food from 500 nations. He features a dish from the Northwest at the restaurant. I think you are nitpicking for nitpicking's sake.
 
Bevi March 24, 2017
Chef Freddie's candor is refreshing and appreciated.
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
It is. He was so informed and such a delight to talk to, also so open to sharing what he knows with others.
 
EmilyC March 24, 2017
Really great interview!
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
Thank you!
 
Kayley N. March 24, 2017
Fantastic article! I almost skipped over it while skimming titles, but then thought, "Woah! I never see ANYTHING about Native America food!" Next time I'm in DC, visiting this museum and its restaurant will be a must. After all, I am part Native American. What an invaluable way to learn about my and our country's historical past and where we can improve in the future.
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
So lovely hearing this from you! I never see anything about Native American food either which is exactly why I pitched this article. You should definitely check it out. Both the museum and the cafe were indescribable educational experiences. I learned a lot and I really hope recent news inspires people to learn more about Native people and Native culture.
 
luvcookbooks July 5, 2017
Agree! Can't wait to visit the museum and restaurant!
 
Zoe March 24, 2017
Great article. Love to see more recipes with reference to ingredient origin, use and preparation. Thanks
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
Thank you! There are definitely recipes around. Chef Freddie has a few on his site here: http://www.freddiebitsoie.com/ and Mitsitam has its own cookbook. The way different Native chefs define Native food also really varies, which is also really interesting to consider!
 
J.p. L. March 24, 2017
this article is really pretty good!
 
Samantha W. March 24, 2017
Great interview. Additionally, I'm endlessly interested in the intersection of food and museums. It can be so easy for cafe spaces in museums to be neutral, and I really respect and appreciate institutions that see it as another opportunity for education.
 
kumalavula March 24, 2017
this article stands out! it is fascinating reading and such a wealth of information. i really enjoyed it.
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
Thank you so much for the kind words and for taking the time to read this. There is so much more that I learned that I had to leave out so I'm glad you really got something out of it.
 
Angela @. March 24, 2017
May I add that the food at Mitsitam Cafe is the best and most delicious offered on the Smithsonian Mall. http://www.mitsitamcafe.com
 
Lisa March 24, 2017
Hi, the correct website for the cafe is http://nmai.si.edu/visit/washington/mitsitam-cafe/.
 
Lisa March 24, 2017
Hi Angela, the official Mitsitam page is http://nmai.si.edu/visit/washington/mitsitam-cafe/
 
Angela @. March 24, 2017
Thanks, sorry for the misdirection.
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
I definitely agree and so much variety there too! Definitely not "typical" museum food.
 
Panfusine March 24, 2017
Fantastic article.. Looking forward to learning about this ancient cuisine that needs to be highlighted. Perhaps primers on traditional ingredients beyond the three sisters simplistic narrative and the inherent flavors as well as recipes.
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
Yeah Native cuisine is fascinating. Misitam was the first time I had ever tried Native food and the flavours are very subtle compared to more popular or "mother cuisines." I have some dried cholla buds and I am really looking forward to preparing, eating and experimenting with them, so learning more about this is definitely going to be an ongoing journey for me.
 
Lazyretirementgirl March 24, 2017
Great interview; very thoughtful chef.
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
Thank you!
 
Allison C. March 24, 2017
This was really great! Any suggestions on how to learn more about Native American cuisine? I'd love to try making potatoes that way!
 
Angela @. March 24, 2017
Try subscribing to Native Foodways Magazine. http://www.nativefoodways.org
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
The most difficult thing about this, and part of the reason at I wanted to do this article, is that there aren't a super amount of resources for learning about NA cuisine. Native Foodways, as Angela said, is a great publication and I know that Misitam has its own recipe book as well. Cowboys & Indians is a publication that sometimes features Native recipes also. The information is around but it really takes some digging to find it. :) Will let you know if I run across anything else.
 
Winifred R. July 4, 2017
As an anthropologist and archaeologist, I'd suggest looking for books on Native foods of the Americas. You can pick an area such as the Southwest or California! Some may be quite dated, but there are a number on foodways that at first may be a bit esoteric, but become more familiar as you go along. You'll learn what dent corn is, versus sweet corn, (dent is corn that's for drying and using as cornmeal), you'll learn about tools like manos and metates for grinding by hand, etc., etc. You'll learn about food as medicine and how harvesting is done to preserve some plants to have it grow in a different way to grow for more of what you need, and on and on. Jump in the water's fine!
 
Josh S. July 5, 2017
Come visit Bismarck nd I can teach you of some foods you didn't know existed I'm a chef in Bismarck nd from the turtle mountain band of ojibwa I too work with indigenous ingredients read Indian country media networks article from may 1st ps my friends with Sioux chef are doing some good work in Minneapolis
 
Stephanie B. March 24, 2017
Super interesting read!
 
Rajasri N. March 25, 2017
Thanks for reading!