I am part of an important movement, to shed light on an ever present conflict in the United States through food. Community has been disconnected through dissonance and corrupt ideologies, which upend healthy relationships of color, gender, and racial harmony.
I am part of a Community to create a Sacred Space for educators, artists, horticulturists, musicians, and cultural workers. The aim is to evaluate and heal those in dire need of interventionist care and direction.
Im with PRISMID SANCTUARY.
Co-founded by Esperanza Spalding and Mick Rose.
I’d like to thank my foraging mentor @cowlitzgatherer for providing some of the best ingredients for this event and in May. Your wisdom and knowledge of invasive and native (plant) species, are a blessing.
Be on the look out for another post related to our foraged species for this event, and in May.
Being present for this award ceremony was like winning an Oscar. But sweeter.
Josephine’s journey has led her to explore the natural histories of ten native species in the Pacific Northwest; searching for answers about how to preserve, improve, and heal from the dilemmas we face in our ecosystems. She logged thousands of hours of long hikes, canoe routes, driving excursions and more in order to get environmental answers from the sources themselves. She listened and has now aided in preserving the voices of plants, animals, Indigenous leaders, scientists, and artists.
She is the most compassionate, thorough, eclectic soul sister I’ve ever met. I have had the opportunity to partner and pen my artwork to the cover, spot illustrations, and provide an epitaph to our book. What an honor.
These experiences have enhanced my understanding of how I view the world today. From a Chef’s perspective I have always had a delicate relationship with plant life. I know what benefits they gift when healing myself and my community, one plate at a time. Without education, interventionist care, and cultivation, these plants will go extinct and we will only be reliant on for-profit consumer agriculture structures, that keep our land and body unhealthy.
What Josephine taught me, through our book, is to pay attention to the world around us. As we should.
Thank you for inviting me on this journey with you!
You know you’re in alignment with the cosmos when an inspiring Chef shows up to your community and makes time with you. It was also an honor to meet his Son Ari too. What a wonderful spirit that young man has become.
White Mountain Apache and Diné Chef, Nephi Craig (Eastern Arizona), has been cultivating, and implementing recovery techniques through indigenous foods to heal people from substance abuse, and addiction. On White Mountain Apache tribal land, Craig opened his restaurant Café Gozhóó to curate ‘a broader mission to help restore personal and cultural health to the community by revitalizing the Western Apache food system, and reintroducing Native foodways as medicine.’
In addition to indigenous foods, Nephi Craig is a Behavioral Health Tech and certified Relapse Prevention Specialist who said, “In the recovery world, there’s a ‘biopsychosocial model’ [emphasizing the interconnection between biological, psychological, and socio-environmental factors in substance abuse], which is about how a person is affected by addiction, and how they’re going to heal or get better. Native or Indigenous Food Sovereignty hits on those three clinical quadrants, but it also hits a fourth one, of spirituality—and I feel like that’s how it’s healing people, emotionally and mentally.”
Yesterday we took the time to get to know each other’s thoughts on Food Sovereignty, science, arts & culture, storytelling, and the negative impacts we’re seeing in the health and wellness sector today.
I have an invitation to join him on some great ideas, and I’m looking forward to it.
For those who haven’t seen the latest documentary on his journey. Watch “Gather” on Netflix. Very proud of this brother.
Safe travels my friend, and I'll keep you updated on the timing of things.
So honored to be part of Native Arts & Cultures Foundation’s (November) 2024 Calendar. Thank you NACF for giving me a platform to inspire and further my art journey for our community.
✨GO to NACF WEBSITE to know more about their work and the people behind the foundation✨
✨NACF mission: “The Native Arts and Cultures Foundation advances equity and cultural knowledge, focusing on the power of arts and collaboration to strengthen Native communities and promote positive social change with American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples in the United States.”
This month we hosted local Chef and Artist Ramon Shiloh (Mvskoke/Cherokee/Filipino/Black) and Chef Caitlyn Tuttle (Celiac + Allergy-Friendly Recipe Developer) for a food demonstration and mini talk as part of our Community Tours Series. Guests enjoyed a storytelling through food experience as Ramon took them on a journey of six beautiful dishes featuring First Nations Foods and teachings about foraging local seasonal ingredients, food sovereignty, and Indigenous food knowledge. Ramon shared about his own food journey and led a cooking demonstration of smoked sockeye salmon patties with Chippewa wild rice and salmon roe. He was assisted by Chef Caitlyn Tuttle whose culinary focus is on food accessibility.
Chef and Artist Ramon Shiloh (Mvskoke/Cherokee/Filipino/Black)
Chef and Artist Ramon Shiloh in the Center kitchen.
Photos by Robert Franklin
Based in Portland, Oregon, Ramon is an award-winning author, illustrator, activist for Native youth, and multicultural chef. He was raised in Palo Alto, California amongst the Indigenous activist community of the bay area that was born from the Occupation of Alcatraz in 1970. His mother, June Legrand ‘Sukuybtet’ was a radio broadcaster, storyteller, educator, and social activist that surrounded him with Native perspectives and spirituality. Her gifts of guidance and education provided a foundation of connection that Ramon continues in his teachings today. His core values are focused on building healthy and empowering relationships which reflect our foodway systems and the need to share our Indigenous food knowledge in this ever-changing world.
We’re grateful to Ramon and Caitlyn for creating such a special evening for us and feeding everyone so much beautiful and delicious food. Stay tuned for upcoming Community Tours, which are free and open to the public each month, and feature fun opportunities to meet with our staff and connect with our community of Native artists and culture bearers.
NACF Staff lead the group on a tour of the building after the food demonstration.
Our work centers the belief that American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian artists and culture bearers are leading powerful conversations through creative expression, bringing valuable perspective to contemporary life, and inspiring healing across cultural divides. We are excited to expand access to these perspectives through increasing visibility of Native creativity at our new home – the Center for Native Arts and Cultures.
AWARD WINNING AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR & INDIGENOUS CHEF FOR NATIVE YOUTH
Im funny sometimes.
Im a giver who demands nothing.
Ive been noted, acknowledged and sought-after without payment.
I manage disputes by those frustrated with one another.
Im Mvskoke/Cherokee/Filipino/Black. So its hard deciding what foods I like.
My parents have passed away, so I walk in a direction with no parental guidance or blessing.
Curated and Written by Chef Ramon Shiloh
For our May 16th, 2024 event
I’d like to thank my foraging mentor @cowlitzgatherer for providing some of the best ingredients for this event and in May. Your wisdom and knowledge of invasive and native (plant) species, are a blessing. 
Photos by: @bert_franks and me
