Nourishing roots with Chef Brave Heart

Indigenous Chef Kimberly Tilsen-Brave Heart, aka Chef Brave Heart, took people on a culinary journey during the inaugural AVMA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Wellbeing Summit in Atlanta on November 8.

Part cooking demonstration, part storytelling session, she highlighted the traditional foods and culture of the Oglala Lakota Nation of the Pine Ridge Indian Reserve in South Dakota. The award-winning chef prepared a buffalo meatball dish while sharing stories about the Oglala Lakota Nation's relationship to the buffalo, an animal critical to the tribe's existence and nearly driven to extinction by American colonial settlers.

"There are stories of my people where it took six full days for a buffalo herd to pass through a village. I went to a buffalo roundup this last fall, and there were 1,300 buffalo. I sat there and I cried," Chef Brave Heart said.

She described the systemic challenges confronting her tribe. According to Chef Brave Heart, Pine Ridge Indian Reservation is the poorest county in America with the lowest life expectancy in the Western Hemisphere-an average of 42 years for men and 52 years for women.

"This was done by design," she said. "We were the original inhabitants of this land, and my people in particular, were the last to resist the occupation and colonization of America. I'm telling you all this because it's really important to know the history in which I come from and the teachings that I share with you about my people."

During the 19th and 20th centuries, Native American children, including those of the Oglala Lakota Nation, were forcibly removed from their families and placed in Catholic orphanages and other institutions as part of a U.S. policy to assimilate Native Americans into the Euro-American culture. They were prevented from speaking their native language and honoring their cultural traditions.

"These are not stories to make you feel horrified, even though they're true. They're meant to empower you to become an ally, and when we have real allies who are willing to talk about what we have been through, it helps our society grow as a people," Chef Brave Heart said.

Fortunately, there is still hope.

"We have brought the buffalo back into existence, just as we have brought the indigenous people back into existence as well," she said. Chef Brave Heart encouraged attendees to join in the work of buffalo recovery by purchasing buffalo meat, even though it's more expense than beef, chicken, and pork. Higher consumer demand helps indigenous producers who can then afford to increase production and lowers costs, explained Chef Brave Heart, a Cornell University-educated economist.

She recalled her mother telling her, "Food is medicine," meaning that connections are formed and relationships strengthened by a shared meal. She encouraged attendees to make time at least once a week to sit down to eat as family and have real conversations, without the distraction of electronic devices.

"That's the power and beauty of food, it's this bridge that builds connection and culture and revitalization through love," Chef Brave Heart said.