STAR CITY 鈥� Carrot River and Star City youth got a tasty cultural experience, with a workshop on Indigenous nutrition.
Shana Smokeyday gave the workshop to students at Star City School on May 31, at an event called School in the Bush.
For the event, students of the two schools got to go outside and take part in various workshops highlighting Indigenous culture.
鈥淟and-based learning has always been a part of First Nations culture,鈥� said Debbie Mason, a Star City teacher and organizer with the program. 鈥淚t encourages critical thought through interaction with the land, an understanding of nature and its relation to science 鈥� all the while connecting with and celebrating Indigenous culture.鈥�
Smokeyday prepared a traditional meal for the students, like her grandmother would have made.
鈥淚 am a Saulteaux First Nations, there is a small group of us,鈥� Smokeyday said. We鈥檙e mostly Cree around Saskatchewan. My ancestors came from Manitoba.鈥�
She said she wanted to give the workshop, because she wanted to give an insight to how her ancestors ate, the simplicity of it and that 鈥渋t鈥檚 just nice to share with the kids鈥�.
Included in this meal was bannock, a raspberry sauce and moose meat stew.
鈥淭his is everything that we used to go out camping and cooking.鈥�
Smokeyday welcomes people to make the recipes at home, even if they鈥檙e not Indigenous.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 culturally appropriate,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think food should be designated to a certain type of culture, I believe everybody should be able to cook it and try it and I hope kids do go home and want to try it and make it with their families.鈥�
The moose she used for the stew was one her husband killed about four months earlier.
鈥淭he moose stew is pretty basic. It鈥檚 just slow cooked in the slow cooker with salt and pepper and onions and garlic and that鈥檚 about it.鈥�
She cooks the moose stew until it is tender. This takes about eight to nine hours.
Smokeyday said preparing the moose stew at home may be a little more difficult, unless they come from a hunting family.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e a hunting family, and you know someone you can get moose from, it鈥檚 very, very easy to cook.鈥�
Next is her bannock.
鈥淓veryone loves bannock, I always get kids asking me what my recipe is,鈥� Smokeyday said. 鈥淚 personally don鈥檛 have a recipe. I pour and use my hand measurements, but I always tell them you can find [a] bannock recipe online. It鈥檚 fun to do, super easy.鈥�
Her traditional bannock style is over a campfire in a cast iron pan.
She said it鈥檚 a staple that you can fry, bake or choose to put yeast into.
鈥淚t really depends on the family and who taught you. A wide variety of bannock, for sure.鈥�
The last delicacy, is the boiled raspberries.
For the raspberries, she boiled them with a little bit of honey as a thickening agent
鈥淢y grandparents, we always used to go berry picking,鈥� Smokeyday said. 鈥淵ou just pick the berries, freeze them, or else you can put them in the pot like that. Honey, you put in a little bit of honey and my grandmother used to put flour in it and that鈥檚 what she used to thicken it up. It鈥檚 kind of like a jam, almost.鈥�
She said in making it that morning, her entire kitchen smelled of raspberries.
The only negative to the recipe is that unlike jam it can鈥檛 be preserved and doesn鈥檛 last long in the fridge.
鈥淲e just dip the bannock in there,鈥� Smokeyday said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like a jam.鈥�
Specifically, these recipes were chosen because it鈥檚 her family鈥檚 traditional meal.
鈥淭his was always the go-to thing my grandma made for us when we were having a feast, big get-togethers. It was always the moose or deer stew, and then the berries and then the bannock. So it鈥檚 what鈥檚 easy for me.鈥�
Her goal was to know that the youth are interested in her culture and the way they cooked.
鈥淚 find we鈥檙e just in a time where all the kids are actually willing to try and wanting to, and even if they don鈥檛 like it, it鈥檚 just the fact that they said, 鈥業 got to try moose stew鈥�.鈥�
