The foods you enjoy in a meal from Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods are more than just delicious, they're foods with a mission: to heal our bodies, tell Indigenous stories, strengthen Native communities, and restore our lands!
Learn more about the ingredients featured in tonight's menu below!
THREE SISTERS DIP << The story of the Three Sisters and their importance as a companion planting method that provides complete nutrition while also sustaining and enhancing soil fertility.
MANOOMIN (WILD RICE) - We source our wild rice from the Red Lake Nation (Chippewa/Ojibwe) Indian Reservation, located in northern Minnesota. Tribal members grow, harvest, roast, and package the rice with great respect and care for tribal traditions passed down through generations, and for land and waters they share with the manoomin. The health benefits of wild rice are many; wild rice is a complete protein (it contains all nine essential amino acids) and is packed with immune-boosting, cancer-fighting antioxidants. Wild rice is high in protein, B vitamins, fiber, phosphorus, zinc, potassium, magnesium, vitamins A, C & E.
O'LAS PILKAN (PIMA WHEAT BERRIES) - We source these wheat berries from Ramona Farms, a Native American (Akimel O’Odham or Gila River Pima) owned business. Their products are grown, harvested, processed, packaged and shipped directly from their farm in Sacaton, Arizona. The Akimel O'Odham people have been growing, sharing and enjoying these grains along the Gila River in Arizona since the crop was introduced over 300 years ago by Padre Eusabio Kino, a Jesuit missionary from Spain. The River People were the first farmers in the Western Hemisphere to grow wheat grain. Wheat berries are wheat in its most basic form: whole grain kernels with only the inedible husk removed. With the kernel intact, wheat berries maintain all their nutrients. They are low in gluten and high in fiber, iron, protein, magnesium and vitamin E.
PUMPKIN VINAIGRETTE - Our pumpkin vinaigrette is made with roasted Cherokee Tan Pumpkin grown at the Cherokee Nation Heirloom Garden in Tahlequah, OK. The Heirloom Garden helps to preserve tribal culture as well as Cherokee language through local school programs, and the heirloom crops and native plants grown each year also help replenish the Cherokee Nation Seed Bank (a plant and cultural preservation program that provides seeds to tribal citizens who are interested in growing traditional Cherokees crops). Pumpkin is high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, while being low in calories. It’s a great source of beta-carotene, a carotenoid that your body converts into vitamin A, which acts as a natural sunblock and protects eyesight. It also contains vitamins C and E, lutein and zeaxanthin, which can help keep your skin strong and healthy.
PUMPKIN & SUNFLOWER SEEDS - Pumpkin and sunflower seeds are both rich in antioxidants (protect against disease and reduce inflammation), iron (helps to transport oxygen throughout the body), zinc (essential for cell growth and division, immune function, enzyme reactions, DNA synthesis and protein production) and magnesium (important for your blood pressure, blood sugar levels, as well as heart and bone health).
OSAGE NATION BISON ROAST - We buy our bison directly from the Osage Nation’s Butcher House Meats, a 19,000-square foot, state-of-the-art facility designed to address food insecurity for the Osage people. The meat processing facility is located in Hominy, Oklahoma and was built to address the food system breakdown that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Proceeds from the sale of meat at their shop go directly back into their programs, providing food and services for elders and food-insecure tribal members. Grass-fed bison is a more sustainable meat choice than beef because bison keep the ecosystem in check through grazing and they produce less greenhouse gas than cattle. A serving of bison meat has slightly more protein than the same size portion of beef but with about 25% less calories and HALF the fat! Bison is also rich in iron, zinc, vitamin B12, omega 3-fats, and the antioxidant selenium.
FRY BREAD << Learn the story of how fry bread became a popular staple of dinner tables all across Indian Country.