I MADE "NEW YORK TIMES"

My take on Grape Dumplings in the New York Times!

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My Accident, Hospitalization, and Thank You

By Ramon Shiloh

 
These past five months have been difficult to process. I’m still recovering from injuries after getting hit by a car. This brain injury has changed everything for me and I’m doing my best to take things slow. I need to. My recovery depends on it.

Only one week into my new job in Tacoma Washington, I never imagined I would see my whole life change in an instant. I had always avoided close calls; I had never experienced a near death like this. It really reshaped my perception of time, and I was forced to accept the good, the bad, and the ugly, from the entire experience.

This accident forced me into isolation for four months. In my bed. It wasn’t pretty. I was spiraling in a void that wreaked havoc with my self-esteem. I found I needed to seek therapy to resolve some mental issues that had compounded my self-worth. Even writing this note is taking so much time. It did not take this much time before to gather my thoughts and write them down.

I truly wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

To put it all in perspective: I moved to Tacoma this past fall on November 3rd, became an employee on November 5th, and was struck by a car on November 11th.

Because of this person’s carelessness, I missed a very noble opportunity to build community partnerships, intertribal relationships, recruit local and indigenous farmers to my seasonal menus, and strengthen my connection to the remarkable kitchen staff and management at ALMA.

My endeavor was to bring awareness of food sovereignty into our Urban Native landscape. My purpose as executive chef was to echo foraging practices between Indigenous peoples of this continent and discuss the colonial footprint that gave way, separating tribal identities and dismantling shared histories, through storytelling and agricultural knowledge.

Please support ALMA if you are headed to Tacoma. Chef Kevin Michalk, who I promoted to take my place, is putting out some of the best food for the seasons to come. He kept that kitchen afloat after my absence and deserves all the success for what he’s putting into that place. Although his menus will not entirely be Native cuisine, some menu items will pay respects to First Nations of the Puget Sound and abroad.

Executive Director Lisa Fruichantie will approve future creations to come out of ALMA.

It’s going to be difficult for me to be back in the kitchen for quite some time. But even when I’m back to normalcy, my doctor has reminded me that the recovery process for everyone with a brain injury looks different and I know he is right. Even if I return to the food industry, I still risk an aneurysm, stroke, or seizure, if I push my stress levels to the limit.

With everything that has happened, I’ve decided to move back to Portland.

I would like to thank everyone who sent well wishes, gifts, prayers, financial assistance, and came to my bedside, while I was at my worst. The impact of your love still resonates, and I can’t wait to see everyone when I’m better and able to visit and join gatherings with familiar friends. I love you all. Thank you and be safe out there. I mean it! 

IT’S A GOOD MONTH TO BE INDIGENOUS

 

A beautiful written essay about my food and work through Food Sovereignty. Sponsored by Kitchn.com

Written by Amber Starks.

Click Kitchn site link to read the article 🪶

Transparency of who I am at The Urban Native Philosophy Kitchen in Tacoma Washington (PART 2)

By Ramon Shiloh (Executive Chef)

I’m an award-winning author, artist, multicultural chef of Black, Filipino, Creek, and Cherokee descent, as well as an activist for Native youth.

I was born in Palo Alto California in the middle of the Occupation of Alcatraz in 1970, which allowed me to forge allegiances with many Native luminaries my mother knew in the late ’70s to early ’90s, including friendships with John Trudell, Floyd (Red Crow) Westerman, comedian Charlie Hill, medicine man Leonard Crow Dog, and Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Wilma Mankiller (to name a few), and I’ve formed alliances with Native communities in the urban environments of Northern and Central California, Albuquerque New Mexico, and the Pacific Northwest since the early ’80s.

As a Native radio broadcaster, educator and sought-after storyteller, my mother surrounded me with Native perspectives and spiritual belief systems; this was simply our way of life.

After my mother’s passing in 1992, I picked up where she left off and dedicated my life to art and social activism in Native communities and remain dedicated to this day.

The influence of these incredible mentors shaped my worldview and taught me how to bridge the urban-native gap from social commentary to the food on our plates.

My goal is to honor the legacy of my mother’s work and finish what she started: Build better partnerships of understanding through food, Art, and political concerns in a native way.

Photo of me Speaking with Executive Director Lisa Fruichantie during our Puyallup Land Acknowledgment Ceremony with Permanent Installation by @paige_pettibon (September 29th, 2021)

Photo of my mother speaking as guest speaker for the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma, with Wilma Mankiller in 1982-‘84

SANTA FE CHILDREN'S MUSEUM COOKBOOK

What an honor to contribute a recipe with other chefs and families for the “Santa Fe Children’s Museum Cookbook”.

Not only is this 71 page cookbook rich with regional and historical facts, but many exciting programs being developed with the support from community volunteers, donors, and partners.

Thank you Hannah Hausman for giving our youth access to science, art, humanities education, a safe space to have fun, explore and play.

For more information about the Santa Fe Children’s Museum go to the link in my comment box below.

Happy cooking and have a beautiful life everyone!

APPEARENCE ON PBS/KCTS/CROSSCUT

KCTS/PBS August 19th & August 20th

Discussing food sovereignty, with Valerie Segrest (Muckleshoot)

Watch our KCTS/PBS/CROSSCUT interview below.

--> Decolonizing Our Plates

SKAGIT RIVER SALMON FESTIVAL

 Proud to be the 

Official Skagit River Salmon Festival Commemorative 

Poster Artist 

 2019, 2020 & 2021

©2019/2020/2021/Ramon Shiloh
Resident Artist/SRSF Commemorative Posters