A Gathering Basket- Issue 6

A Gathering Basket FROM THE I-COLLECTIVE A MULTI-MEDIA COOK BOOK

issue 6

Here in the northern hemisphere the renewal. In these months of solitude we re look at the braids of wild onions, turnips, s the saltbush, wild carrot greens, and suma fruit, maple sugar, or sweet corn starch to what we envision for the year to come but these lifeways as the way forward.

On these continents it is a truth that us. Our ancestors honored their place in t soil, plants, and animals in a way that refle forest understory to maintain them for all t forests to honor the balance that was han oppressors, to seek this way of being.

In this issue we have the honor of le Lakota Nation, that is dedicated to his peo many words about the work his family doe

e land sleeps beneath a blanket of snow as it prepares for the spring and a new season of eflect on the year past; the fields, the gathering, and the preparation for this moment. We squash, corn and the bouquets of wild greens hanging besides them for nourishment and ac berries we gathered to season them with. Maybe we add a spoon of powdered yucca o the tea we collected for this moment and reflect on the journey it took to get here and t, whatever you think, we hope you look at our ancestors ability to thrive by maintaining

t nobody was hungry before colonialism, western religion, and capitalism were forced on their given ecosystems by cultivating relationships with those that gave them life; water, ected back health and nourishment for everyone. Whether burning the grasslands or those whose life depends on those spaces, maintaining tribal fisheries, or cultivating entire nded to them by their elders it has always been our way, even as we continue to fight our

earning from Ahán Hehwáka Sápa, an Itazipco Lakota brother from the Cheyenne River ople, family, and traditional lifeways in the very spirit we speak of. We could definitely offer es but we’ll go ahead and turn over the microphone.

One of my hu. That’s w woodsii in t as rose hips to spot in th fairly simple rosehip is a of the tiny, irritate you

Unjinjintkathe Lakota t plant has be medicine fo little rose b one’s immu illness, and

The beautif and althoug bulk. Once for years. W soup or rice tincture tha memory tha

Rose P

1 cup

1½c

¼ cu

Pack mon well

favorite plant relatives to gather during these dark, sub-zero, Dakota prairie days is unjinjintkawhat we call the wild prairie rose in my beautiful Lakota language, which is also known as Rosa the language of the colonizer. The shiny, red fruits that grow on these thorny shrubs are known s, and I love walking through hip-deep snow to gather these with my family. Rose hips are easy he winter, as the bright, ruby-red berries stand out warmly against the white snow, and they’re e to harvest as long as you remember to watch out for those sharp thorns. The fleshy part of the a sweet treat on winter hikes, but just as you must be aware the thorns, you must also be wary yellow seeds, which are covered in small, wiry hairs. These hairs are super sharp, and they can ur digestive system if you consume too many.

-hu figures heavily into lots of Lakota stories, but if you’ve ever been lucky enough to hear trickster tale of Iktomi and the Itchy Ass Berries, you might begin to understand how long this een a part of my people’s lifeways. The rosehips, roots, and flowers have all been an important or millennia. The fruits and petals are an excellent source of bio-available vitamin C, and three berries have as much vitamin C as a grapefruit. Vitamin C is an important nutrient for boosting une system and preventing infection. Our family drinks lots of rosehip tea at the first sign of it is safe for everyone, even children.

ful, pink flowers of unjinjintka-hu are soft and aromatic are when they bloom in high summer, gh these flowers are quite ephemeral, lasting only a couple of weeks, they are easy to harvest in harvested, you can dry them and store them in jars, and they’ll retain their fragrance and color When the days are cold and gray, we will often add a few dried rose petals to the top of a bowl of e, and suddenly everything feels a little sunnier. Every year, we also make an amazing rose petal at is fantastic for treating anxiety and depression. The taste and smell of roses hold ancestral at can lift our spirits and help us to remember all of the good things.

Petal Tincture

p rose petals, packed

cups 100 proof vodka

up raw honey

k the petals in to a pint jar and pour the vodka over them. Let sit for 1-2 nths, but we have let ours sit for 6 months and it turned out great. Strain and then add the honey. Store in a cool, dark place.

But, we are talking about winter foraging,

While the rosy petals are only available only for a short time, rosehips are basical best after they’ve frozen a few times, because the condensing of the sugars make imperceptible hint of fermentation. After harvesting, you can make tea from the easily removed when the hips are fresh, but you can skip that time consuming ord rosehips for tea, you don’t necessarily have to remove the seeds at all - just make

aren’t we?

lly available year-round. In fact, our family likes them es the rosehips sweeter and gives them an almost fresh hips or dry them for later. The seeds are more deal and dry them whole. If you are only using the e sure you filter the tea very well to remove any hairs.

Rosehip Tea 6-10 whole dried rose hips (or 2 TB deseeded hips) 2 cups hot water Honey or maple syrup to taste

Pour the hot water over the hips and steep for 10-15 minutes. Strain well.

Add sweetener if desired

All that said, if you want to eat the rosehips, you must remove the sorts of delicious recipes. The tea is, as I said earlier, wonderful, w so much more with this versatile fruit. One of my favorite recipes cornmeal, dried fruit, and fat. This nourishing food will keep for m syrup poured on top.

Wagmiza wasna 1 cup toasted cornmeal 2 TB deseeded rose hips 4TB bison fat (or any type of fat, including coconut oil) Maple sugar to taste

We like toasting our cornmeal until it is an almost chocolate brown color. Then we add it to a bowl with the rose hips, fat, and maple sugar. Mix until combined well. Eat it as is, or serve with rosehip syrup.

Click for recipe video!

e seeds, and believe me when I tell you that they are delicious in all with a flavor reminiscent of apples and cranberries, but you can do is wagmiza wasna, a traditional Lakota food made from toasted months in your pantry, and we love serving it with a little rosehip

Rosehip Syrup 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh rosehips 2 cups water 1 cup raw honey 1 tsp lemon juice (optional) Ahán Heháka Sápa (Luke Black Elk)

Add the rosehips and water to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat, and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the water has reduced by about half.

Remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool. Strain the rose hip juice very well through a few layers of cheesecloth or an old t-shirt. You may have to strain more than once to make sure you remove all the seed hairs.

Stir in the honey while the juice is still at room temperature. Add the lemon juice if desired. Store in the refrigerator.

No matter the time of year, unjinjintka hu is a special treasure that holds on to the memory of summer warmth, as well as the memories of our ancestors who have relied on this plant relative for generations. Along with it being a great immune system booster, wild rose provides a spiritual and mental lift, and a delicious treat for our taste buds. Always remember that the Earth is our mother and will always provide that which we need most, we just have to be willing to put in a little work for ourselves and our communities.

-Ahán Heháka Sápa (Luke Black Elk)

At a recent Winter Solstice gathering we were blessed to share a meal of gathered, grown, raised foods and medicines; roasted Navajo Churro mutton ribs, blue corn mush with juniper ash, red chilli pasole with wild herbs, homegrown beans cooked in a clay pot, homegrown Acoma Pueblo’s Tii-dya-mi-shu-ku squash, blue corn tamales with fall’s apricots and agave, tortillas, Navajo winter melon, Navajo tea, and reminiscence on the tapestry of foods woven together from the hands of those in attendance, many of which were Dinè weavers themselves.

These tellings, and those shared by Luke Black Elk, lend themselves to a flashback into young Dine farmer/weaver, Kevin Aspaas’ field, earlier in the fall and knowledge he passed to us from his grandparents' teachings that should find us all. He shared, “Farming and weaving are similar in structure.

The rows are like warp strings and planting perpendicular rows is like creating the weave and design. It’s always similar in the way that it takes time to see progress, gotta have patience to see the work.” It is this way of being that allows for us to grow throughout the winter months while our fields and the lands rests. *We want to recognize that the use of alcohol in the tincture recipe may not fit with some beliefs and would like to offer that this can also be made by just pouring vinegar and honey over the rose petals to create what is called an “oxymel” that will have the same medicinal properties.

Gratitudes: Ahán Heháka Sápa (Luke Black Elk)

A GATHERING BASKET STAFF M. Karlos Baca, Written Content Curator Britt Reed, Image Curator Trennie Collins, Creative Director Quentin Glabus, Video Curator Kristina Stanley, Program Manager

THIS PUBLICATION IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE FOLLOWING SUPPORTERS AND SPONSORS: