Seneca Media
Many tribes and Nations, including the Seneca, consider food to be central to community. Our ancestors developed cuisine based on the indigenous plants and animals of the region, including wild game and the Three Sisters: corn, beans, and squash. An ingenious development in agriculture, the planting of the Three Sisters was deliberate; all three plants removed and replenished nutrients in the soil, the corn stalks grew tall and the vining beans could climb them. Squash leaves covered the soil and kept it moist while simultaneously preventing weed growth.
As colonization occurred, livestock and foreign plants were introduced to Native peoples, altering traditional diets, cultivation methods and hunting patterns as a result. With forced relocation and assimilation policies came a devastating blow to our food traditions. Displaced from our homelands and forced onto reservations, many tribes and nations relied on government food commodities that, research shows, are the root of health issues many Native people have today, including diabetes.
Today, Native peoples are reviving food traditions and food sovereignty through farming, raising livestock, and applying modern cooking techniques. The Seneca Nation’s own Gakwi:yo:h Farms is an example of preserving food traditions by growing produce indigenous to the region, tapping and processing maple, and raising a bison herd. Chefs and home cooks alike are presenting traditional foods in modern ways while still honoring enduring favorites like the beloved frybread, a product of government commodities. By using food to preserve our culture, we can sustain our heritage by reclaiming what was taken and bringing it into contemporary Native life.
This post is part of our #NativeAmericanHeritageMonth series.
