Prof’s cookbook in kitchen fight with Martha, Maya

A KU professor’s cookbook aimed at promoting better nutrition and diet among Indigenous people has gained international attention and competition.

Devon Mihesuah, Cora Lee Beers professor in international cultural understanding at the Center for Indigenous Nations Studies, is competing with authors including Martha Stewart and Maya Angelou for the title of best in the world. Her book, Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens: Indigenous Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness, won the Special Award of the Jury from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards and is a finalist for Best in the World. There were 6,000 entries from 65 countries vying for the title. The award will be presented in May in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Mihesuah is Oklahoma Choctaw. Her book includes sections on exercise advice, healthy eating and gardening tips. She collected recipes from her colleagues in the U.S. and Canada for the book, including summer salsa, Dakota Waskuya soup, Osage pounded meat, chickasaw pashofa, elk steak, Choctaw banana, Comanche Ata-Kwasa and Luiseno weewish.

Mihesuah said the book also includes frank discussions about the poor state of Indigenous people's health today and how and why many Natives no longer adhere to traditional diets and activities that kept them healthy.

"High incidences of diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and related physical problems among Indigenous peoples are pervasive consequences of colonialism," Mihesuah said. "Natives once gathered, hunted and cultivated foods that kept them physically strong. Now, many Natives across the Americas are sedentary and have lost touch with their traditional tribal knowledge, including methods of cultivating, preparing and preserving foods. Taking charge of our health by boycotting the greasy, fatty, sugary and salty foods that are killing us in favor of the nutrient-rich and unprocessed indigenous foods of this hemisphere is greatly empowering," Mihesuah said.

Mihesuah said eating right and staying active were important not only for a healthy lifestyle but also as an example of good health for future generations.

"We can only do so much to combat racism and prejudice," Mihesuah noted, "but we can control what we eat, what we feed our families and how much we move around. We must take responsibility for our health and for the well being of our children. In so doing, we pass on a legacy of self-respect and tribal strength to future generations."