Shane Mederic Chartrand - tawâw

taww [pronounced ta- wow ]: Come in, youre welcome, theres room.

Born to Cree parents and raised by a Mtis father and Mikmaw-Irish mother, Shane M. Chartrand has spent the past ten years learning about his history, visiting with other First Nations peoples, gathering and sharing knowledge and stories, and creating dishes that combine his diverse interests and express his unique personality. The result is taww: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine , a gorgeous book that traces Chartrands culinary journey from his childhood in Central Alberta, where he learned to raise livestock, hunt, and fish on his familys acreage, to his current position as executive chef at the acclaimed SC Restaurant in the River Cree Resort & Casino in Enoch, Alberta, on Treaty Territory.

Containing over seventy-five recipes including Chartrands award-winning dish War Paint along with personal stories and interviews with friends, culinary influences, and family members, taww is part cookbook, part exploration of ingredients and techniques, and part chefs personal journal a visionary book that invites readers to leaf through its pages for ideas, education, recipes, and inspiration.

taww

taww

Progressive Indigenous Cuisine

Shane M. Chartrand

with Jennifer Cockrall-King

Foreword by Marlene and Laurie Buffalo

Photography by Cathryn Sprague

Copyright 2019 Shane Mederic Chartrand and Jennifer Cockrall-King Foreword copyright 2019 Marlene and Laurie Buffalo

Published in Canada in 2019 and the USA in 2019 by House of Anansi Press Inc. www.houseofanansi.com

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

House of Anansi Press is committed to protecting our natural environment. As part of our efforts, this book is made of material from well-managed FSC -certified forests, recycled materials, and other controlled sources.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Title: taww : progressive Indigenous cuisine / Shane Chartrand with Jennifer Cockrall-King. Names: Chartrand, Shane, author. | Cockrall-King, Jennifer, 1971 author. Identifiers: Canadiana (print) 20190043555 | Canadiana (ebook) 2019004358X | ISBN 9781487005122 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781487006051 (EPUB) | ISBN 9781487006068 (Kindle) Subjects: LCSH: Cooking, Canadian. | CSH: Native peoplesFoodCanada | LCGFT: Cookbooks. Classification: LCC TX715.6 .C43 2019 | DDC 641.59/297dc23

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019931291

Book design: Alysia Shewchuk

Front cover and interior photographs by Cathryn Sprague, with the exception of images listed here: pages ivv, x, courtesy of Ryan OFlynn.

We acknowledge for their financial support of our publishing program the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Government of Canada.

For Mom and Dad

You adopted me when I was six and you got me through so much. You both have different strengths and continue to teach me in your own ways. Im grateful to have you in my life.

And for my friend and co-author, Jennifer Cockrall-King

You brought the world of books and words to me, and have been part of this journey for years. No matter what life threw at us, we kept going!

CONTENTS

A Note on Language xi

Foreword by Marlene and Laurie Buffalo xiii

Introduction

Spring

Summer

Fall

Winter

Pantry Staples

Afterword by Jennifer Cockrall-King

Acknowledgments

Recipe Index

Index

taww xi

A Note on Language

Right now, in Canada, Indigenous is the preferred term to indicate indigeneity and that which belongs to or touches First Nations peoples and cultures. Aboriginal is also a widely used term in Canada though we are aware of the colonial associations with this word and that our communities are moving away from it. For the purposes of this book, weve kept to the original words used in conversation and direction quotations.

Additionally, while it may sound like basic information, this bears repeating: The Indigenous peoples of North America are not just one cultural or ethnic group. We are made up of over separate First Nations Communities, affiliated with over Nations, speaking over 50 Indigenous languages in Canada alone. Indigenous peoples live in a wide range of environments, from reservations to cities, from the rainforest climates of the West Coast to the polar deserts of the high Arctic, and from the grasslands and high plains of the Prairies to the coastal communities of the Maritimes. Indigenous peoples include those of us who are First Nations, those of us who are Mtis, and those of us who are Inuit. As of the 2016 Canadian census, there are 1.6 million of us here, and we make up 4.9 percent of the total population.

taww xiii

Foreword

by Marlene and Laurie Buffalo

Samson Cree Nation, Treaty No. Territory

taww: Progressive Indigenous Cuisine is not just another cookbook; it is a collection of healing, of nourishment, of sharing. It is a way to welcome others into our homes and our lives, to share and honour what has been carefully grown, selected, and curated with the intent to create amazing food at home.

Indigenous cuisine is tied very closely to nhiywiwin : Plains Cree culture, traditions, teachings, principles, and value systems. Food is meant not only to nourish the spirit but also to heal. Animals have their own medicine lines, where they go to heal themselves by eating. Therefore, it is natural that our food should nourish us physically as well as help us to heal and to grow mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.