Up To Date

The Native Foods Of Thanksgiving

By Sam Zeff,

Published November 20, 2020 at 4:54 PM CST

Ways To Subscribe

The Mexican dish posole combines includes indigenous ingredients of hominy, meat, chili peppers and avocados. — The Mexican dish posole includes indigenous ingredients of hominy, meat, chili peppers and avocados.

Eating "pre-contact" plants and animals the week of Thanksgiving highlights the growing movement for food sovereignty.

Few of the foods present when the Pilgrims of Plymouth colony invited members of the Wampanoag tribe to a harvest feast bear any resemblance to what's found on the holiday table of today. A guide to the foods that sustained native peoples of the Americas for millennia before Europeans arrived and how bringing those back is preserving indigenous cultures.

Devon Mihesuah, Cora Lee Beers Price Professor in the Humanities Program at the University of Kansas, an enrolled citizen of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, and author of “Recovering Our Ancestors’ Gardens: Indigenous Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness.

Tags

Up To Date Talk Show Podcast Native Americans Thanksgiving food history preservation

Sam Zeff

As KCUR’s metro reporter, I hold public officials accountable. Are cities spending your tax money wisely? Are police officers and other officials acting properly? I will track down malfeasance by seeking open records and court documents, and by building relationships across the city. But I also need you — email me with any tips at <a href="mailto:sam@kcur.org" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe57dc0000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1678388669808,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000170-820a-de8d-af78-a70f6b270000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1678388669808,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000170-820a-de8d-af78-a70f6b270000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"sam@kcur.org","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"mailto:sam@kcur.org","_id":"00000186-c7c2-da91-a187-d7d3863a0001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000186-c7c2-da91-a187-d7d3863a0000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">sam@kcur.org</a>, find me on Twitter <a href="https://twitter.com/samzeff" target="_blank" link-data="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"0000016e-ccea-ddc2-a56e-edfe57dc0000","_type":"ae3387cc-b875-31b7-b82d-63fd8d758c20"},"cms.content.publishDate":1678388695547,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000170-820a-de8d-af78-a70f6b270000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.content.updateDate":1678388695547,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000170-820a-de8d-af78-a70f6b270000","_type":"6aa69ae1-35be-30dc-87e9-410da9e1cdcc"},"cms.directory.paths":[],"anchorable.showAnchor":false,"link":{"attributes":[],"cms.directory.paths":[],"linkText":"@samzeff","target":"NEW","attachSourceUrl":false,"url":"https://twitter.com/samzeff","_id":"00000186-c7c3-d5fc-addf-e7fb02120001","_type":"ff658216-e70f-39d0-b660-bdfe57a5599a"},"_id":"00000186-c7c3-d5fc-addf-e7fb02120000","_type":"809caec9-30e2-3666-8b71-b32ddbffc288"}">@samzeff</a> or call me at 816-235-5004.

See stories by Sam Zeff

Mackenzie Martin

As senior podcast producer for KCUR Studios and a host of A People’s History of Kansas City, I interview everyday people and dig through old newspaper articles to unearth stories of the visionaries and renegades who created this region. I focus on bringing the past to life, so we can all better understand the city we live in today. Email me at mackenzie@kcur.org.

See stories by Mackenzie Martin

Danie Alexander

As senior producer of Up To Date, I want our listeners to hear familiar and new voices that shine light on the issues and challenges facing the myriad communities KCUR serves, and to expose our audiences to the wonderful and the creative in the Kansas City area. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. Reach me at alexanderdk@kcur.org.

See stories by Danie Alexander