I am currently in the midst of the three projects. I am working on a book called Biscuits and Buffalo: Squashing Myths about Food in Indian Country, which is about the ways northern Plains Indians have turned to the food traditions of the World War II generation, foods such as beef, biscuits and garden vegetables, along with buffalo and wild plants, to perpetuate a sense of Indian heritage. I am also writing about the Miss Indian American contest that was held in the reservation border town of Sheridan, Wyoming between 1952 and 1982. It is a story about collaboration among Indians and non-Indians in ways that defy expectation. I also have a contract with the University of Washington Press to write, with my co-author Neil Maher, a guidebook to interpreting images in the environmental humanities.
... Although a hidden flavoring in many dishes—a dash in salad dress-ing and a subtle pinch intom... more ... Although a hidden flavoring in many dishes—a dash in salad dress-ing and a subtle pinch intomato sauce—it is ... Though being called “sweetie pie” might seem innocuous enough, she suggests that the connection between women and sweets that developed in nineteenth ...
The basic question guiding this article is what do people living in an underserved neighborhood i... more The basic question guiding this article is what do people living in an underserved neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, think about the urban gardens that have sprouted up around them during the last ten years. The question arose because of the mixed success of a produce market that was meant to target the nutritional needs of this African American community. Based on interviews conducted at two garden sites created by the nonprofit HopeBUILD, the author found that the community members valued the gardens less for the nutrition they offered than for the values and sense of heritage they conveyed. The ways they spoke about the gardens and produce resonated with old agrarian myths about the cultural importance of working the land to build a strong sense of character and independence. Many have relatives who took part in the Great Migration from the rural South in the early twentieth century. Although African Americans suffered devastating hardships from corrupt and racist tenant and farm policies, many held fast to the agrarian myth that to own a farm, or produce one's own food, enabled self-determination and full rights of citizenship. These inner-city African Americans, therefore, stake claim to one of the longest-lasting and most potent symbols of American national identity—the American farmer. The symbol of the farmer is as relevant in urban lots as it is in the countryside. The point is that healthy food and nutritious food are not necessarily the same thing. Healthy foods are ones that sustain cultures, not just bodies.
This article focuses on the author's exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies entitled" C... more This article focuses on the author's exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies entitled" Crossing Cultural Fences," which examined the shared histories and material worlds of Indians and non-Indians in order to complicate popular concepts of racial and ethnic ...
... Although a hidden flavoring in many dishes—a dash in salad dress-ing and a subtle pinch intom... more ... Although a hidden flavoring in many dishes—a dash in salad dress-ing and a subtle pinch intomato sauce—it is ... Though being called “sweetie pie” might seem innocuous enough, she suggests that the connection between women and sweets that developed in nineteenth ...
The basic question guiding this article is what do people living in an underserved neighborhood i... more The basic question guiding this article is what do people living in an underserved neighborhood in St. Louis, Missouri, think about the urban gardens that have sprouted up around them during the last ten years. The question arose because of the mixed success of a produce market that was meant to target the nutritional needs of this African American community. Based on interviews conducted at two garden sites created by the nonprofit HopeBUILD, the author found that the community members valued the gardens less for the nutrition they offered than for the values and sense of heritage they conveyed. The ways they spoke about the gardens and produce resonated with old agrarian myths about the cultural importance of working the land to build a strong sense of character and independence. Many have relatives who took part in the Great Migration from the rural South in the early twentieth century. Although African Americans suffered devastating hardships from corrupt and racist tenant and farm policies, many held fast to the agrarian myth that to own a farm, or produce one's own food, enabled self-determination and full rights of citizenship. These inner-city African Americans, therefore, stake claim to one of the longest-lasting and most potent symbols of American national identity—the American farmer. The symbol of the farmer is as relevant in urban lots as it is in the countryside. The point is that healthy food and nutritious food are not necessarily the same thing. Healthy foods are ones that sustain cultures, not just bodies.
This article focuses on the author's exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies entitled" C... more This article focuses on the author's exhibition at the Museum of the Rockies entitled" Crossing Cultural Fences," which examined the shared histories and material worlds of Indians and non-Indians in order to complicate popular concepts of racial and ethnic ...
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