NORTH AMERICAN TRADITIONAL INDIGENOUS FOOD SYSTEMS

NATIFS Presents Indigenous Peoples’ Day and IFL brings the Indigenous Cuisine to The Minnesota State Fair

Aug 2, 2024 | Announcements, Indigenous Food Lab, NĀTIFS

NATIFS is hosting Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the Minnesota State Fair. You can find us at Dan Patch Park on Sunday, August 25th with programming running from 9-5 pm CT. Alongside Indigenous community organizations, businesses and partners: 

Aside from our programming at Dan Patch Park, the Indigenous Food Lab will be in the Midtown Global Market’s booth in the International Bazaar selling fair-exclusive Indigenous cuisine from August 28 to September 2. On the menu, and an official MN State Fair New Food, is our nixtamal and wild rice bowl with your choice of bison meatballs, sweet potato dumplings, or both. You can even add seasoned crickets to your meal if you’d like!

This year at Dan Patch Park you’ll see diverse representations of Indigenous food, music, entertainment, and culture.  A few other highlights of our Indigenous Peoples’ Day programming include: 

Trish Cook, a Red Laker from South Minneapolis, is a comedian and storyteller known for her witty and relatable humor and our emcee for the day. As part of the Ojibwe Comedy Trio, NDN Way Comedy, and through her solo work, she brings “kwe comedy” with Ace BAE Comedy! Big Auntie Energy Comedy! to life. Trish’s comedy draws from everyday experiences and her Native roots, making her a beloved figure in the Midwest comedy scene. She has been featured in various media outlets and has performed at venues like the Guthrie Theater and the Minnesota State Fair.

Imnizaska is made up of intertribal singers and sing primarily Dakota songs. They are a family drum group supported by the men’s group at the American Indian Family Center in St Paul. They have been singing together for about 7 years. Their drum name was given to them through ceremony. The term “Imnizaska” means “white bluffs” and it is what the Dakota people of the lands called what is now Saint Paul. Accompanying the drum group will be local dancers that represent various Indigenous cultures and traditional dances. 

The Native Lacrosse Association is based in the Twin Cities and extends across the region. They work to advance the culture, knowledge and skills of lacrosse of and for Indigenous Peoples. John Hunter and other facilitators will give an overview of the traditional game to the audience and will have a net set up off of the stage so fair-goers can engage in some hands-on learning throughout the day. 

This year you’ll see Native American Music Award winners, the Buffalo Weavers on the main stage. They are a collaboration between acclaimed poet-activist-musicians Strong Buffalo (Sisseton Wahpeton Dakota) and Ben Weaver. Rooted in American Indian thought and practice, their music, poetry and stories help to contextualize and nurture the healing of broken relationships between humans and the land. 

James Harvin will also be joining the main stage programming this year as one of our musical performances. Mr. Harvin is a passionate afro-Indigenous artist that has been songwriting for nearly two decades. Harvin hails from Harlem, New York and credits his love for music to subway musicians who inspired him as a child. “The subway platform is where people sang their hearts out, and they captured mine in the process” Harvin states. His music is a blend of R&B soul, pop and a dash of jazz for extra flavor. 

Luke and Linda Black Elk are food sovereignty activists and teachers of traditional plant uses, gardening, food preservation, and foraging and will be providing a food preservation demonstration centered around wasna on the main stage. Luke is one of the founding board members of the Tatanka Wakpala Model Sustainable Community, which is a Native non-profit on the Cheyenne River Nation focusing on traditional building design, permaculture, food sovereignty, and a return to Lakota spirituality as a guide for everyday life. Linda currently serves as the Educational Programming and Community Development Leader at NATIFS. Luke is the Farm Director at Hoh Woju Otunwe, a 16-acre organic farm on recovered homelands of the Oceti Sakowin in southern Minnesota. Together, Luke and Linda sit on the board of Makoce Ikikcupi, a Native non-profit, which is a Reparative Justice project on Dakota lands. Luke and Linda make sure their three sons stay involved in all of this important work, so they may learn about the importance of feeding themselves and their communities with food and medicine that nourishes and heals mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually

Returning this year is KetzalCoatlicue (Precious Mother Earth), a Kalpulli (a community) of Indigenous dancers in South Minneapolis, Minnesota, dedicated to preserving and performing traditional Aztec dance. They use sacred instruments like drums and conch shells and are rooted in the Chichimeca “Aztec” tradition, which has been passed down through oral traditions since the 16th century. Their group participates in ceremonies and cultural events both in Mexico and the U.S., including significant celebrations like Saint Paul Apostle and Lady of Guadalupe. KetzalCoatlicue has performed at various festivals and events, such as the MN Timberwolves games and Pride parades. In 2019, they represented Aztec dance in Scotland and Italy, and in 2020, they were nominated to represent the Midwest in Dubai. They are also recognized as COMPAS and Young Audiences of Minnesota global artists.

Lastly, our founder and executive director Sean Sherman will be present and discussing his involvement in NATIFS’ work to promote its vision and mission. He has dedicated his career to supporting and promoting Indigenous food systems and Native food sovereignty. His goal is to make Indigenous foods more accessible to as many communities as possible through the non-profit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS) and its Indigenous Food Lab professional Indigenous kitchen and training center. Working to address the economic and health crises affecting Native communities by re-establishing Native foodways, NĀTIFS imagines a new North American food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises.

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