Native Food: More Than a Side Dish

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For many, November means falling leaves and temperatures, upcoming finals and, of course, Thanksgiving. But November is also Native American Indian Heritage Month.

Before you load up your plate with mashed potatoes, drizzle on gravy and pile on turkey, students in the American Indian Student Union at the University of Maryland want you to know what Native food means to them.

“People think Native food is just a bunch of sides,” said Jazmine Diggs, a sophomore community health major and co-president of the union. “We don’t just eat corn or squash.”

According to Diggs, Native foods can also differ for each regional tribe. Diggs grew up in Maryland but her family is from the Lumbee Tribe in North Carolina.

“For my tribe, it’s definitely everything involving pork,” Diggs said. “If it has pork in it, then we want it.”

At Diggs’ family powwows, they would have entire roasted pigs to eat, and pork prepared in many different ways.

Spicy flavor is also essential to her family.

“The spicier the better. For my family down south, if it’s not spicy they don’t want it,” Diggs said.

Living on campus, it is challenging for Diggs to access Native style food, especially because she dreads cooking. Whenever she is home, Diggs enjoys making food with family. Cooking is “involved and everyone is having a good time and everyone wants to do something,” Diggs said.

For another AISU member, Brenee Butler, the issue is finding all of the ingredients.

“I can’t go to the store and pick up this spice or this herb. I have to wait to go home to eat it,” said Butler, who is a junior studio art major.

Ingredients such as juniper and osha root can be difficult to find at most grocery stores. The campus dining halls don’t serve Native food either, Butler said.

“It’s definitely a disconnecting thing. It’s kind of depressing. You think, ‘I guess I can make do with something from the dining hall,’” Butler said.

Butler also grew up in Maryland, and her family is from the Piscataway Conoy Tribe of Southern Maryland. Food at home means lots of flavor, according to Butler.

“There are big punches of flavor whether it be spicy or sweet or savory,” Butler said. Her favorite native dish is fry bread.

“It’s technically like funnel cake. It is made from flour, lard and sometimes vanilla. You can top it with anything from sugar to fruit to meats," Butler said.

When Diggs goes home the first thing her godmother has for her is fry bread with a bunch of sugar on top. That’s how she knows she is home.

“It’s such a comfort food,” Butler said.

The purpose of AISU is to “increase visibility and raise awareness of American Indian cultures,” according to their online mission statement.

“We’re just here to represent Native American students on campus,” Butler said.

One way that is achieved is through cultural education, according to Diggs.

“Learning the different recipes, taking the time to cook with family,” Butler said. “You connect with everyone through that.”