Dec. 16 presentation looks at how Native American has adapted its traditional ingredients.
Wistariahurst Museum’s fall lecture series, "Historical Culinary Incidents: An Exploration of Food and Culture in the Pioneer Valley," continues Dec.16 at 6 p.m., with Rachel Sayet, a member of the Mohegan Nation and a Native American researcher.
Sayet grew up on the Mohegan reservation in Uncasville, Conn, and has studied Native American culture at the graduate level. She developed a love of food early in life.
“I have always loved food, and learned to cook when I was very young. In high school, I took classes at Mystic Cooking School, and went to Cornell University to study hotel and restaurant management, before working as a personal chef,” Sayet said.
Sayet studied anthropology and museum studies at Harvard Extension School.
Her Wistariahurst talk is based on her research paper, “A Celebration of Land and Sea: Modern Indigenous Cuisine in New England."
The paper explores how Native Americans continue to use ingredients, available at the time of the Pilgrims' first harvest dinner, in 1621, to create their own modern indigenous cuisine. She interviewed Mashpee Wampanoag, Abenaki, Mohegan, and Narragansett cooks in New England for the paper.
“In the lecture, I discuss a little bit about how people in New England harvested, hunted and cooked food traditionally. I then speak about the traditional celebrations that went along with food, instead of one Thanksgiving that we celebrate today in this country,” said Sayet.
She added Native Americans used their thanksgiving to show gratitude to the Creator for any harvests, like those for strawberries, green beans and corn.
Sayet has been a visiting scholar on the Yale Indian Papers Project based at Yale University's Lewis Walpole Library in Farmington, and is library assistant for the Mohegan Tribe in Uncasville, Conn. She will bring native foods, like Narragansett strawberry bread, and demonstrate some traditional table settings.
“Sometimes people have trouble understanding the concept of modern indigenous cuisine. Just like any other culture, Native culture is not static,” she said.
“Today the native people of New England utilize the same ingredients that have been available here on the Eastern shores for thousands of years, but incorporate “new” ingredients that have become food staples, such as milk, eggs, and molasses, in order to develop a glorious array of recipes.”
One of Sayet’s favorite “modern indigenous” recipes is Dale Carson’s Narragansett Scallops with Maple Syrup, Sage and Bacon.
Carson, who is an Abenaki food columnist for Indian Country Today, was a primary source for her research. Carson’s cookbooks, "New Native American Cooking" and "Native New England Cooking" are considered primers on native cooking, Sayet said.
“There are a multitude of talented Native American chefs in New England, and not all them cook professionally,” she said.
Cost for the presenation is $7 for non-members and $5 for members.
“I heard about Rachel’s presentation at the Foodways II conference at Historic Deerfield last spring. I was anxious to seek the help of this bright girl to recall the history of the indigenous peoples who lived in the Valley, and who are often overlooked in history,” said Penni Martorell, curator and city historian at Wistariahurst Museum.
“I am also hoping she might also be able to give us some insights to some of the local species of flora and fauna we may no longer be familiar with."
Wistariahurst Museum is located at 238 Cabot Street in Holyoke. Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Wednesday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.. Research hours are by appointment.
For more information, call (413) 322-5660 or visit www.wistariahurst.org.
Related:
http://blog.nmai.si.edu/main/2011/05/rachel-sayet-akitusu-mohegan-tribal-member-and-nmai-intern.html
http://www.library.yale.edu/yipp/about_project/index.html
Modern Day Narragansett Strawberry Bread
From Dale Carson’s "New Native American Cooking"
Serves 9
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup maple sugar
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup finely ground walnuts
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
Milk enough to make a stiff batter
1 cup wild strawberries, rinsed and stemmed, or cultivated strawberries, rinsed, stemmed, and quartered
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add the egg and beat until smooth.
Add flour, nuts, baking powder, and salt. Stir and add milk enough to make a stiff batter
Gently fold in the strawberries and turn batter into an 8- or 9-inch square baking pan.
Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
Let cool before slicing.