re: #242 William Lewis

Fry bread is THE reason to go to the powwow every summer here.

Still, the story of fry bread and Native Americans is a complicated one at best. For those who aren’t aware of it, it was created “in 1864 using the flour, sugar, salt and lard that was given to them by the United States government when the Navajo, who were living in Arizona, were forced to make the 300-mile journey known as the “Long Walk” and relocate to Bosque Redondo, New Mexico, onto land that could not easily support their traditional staples of vegetables and beans; New Mexican cuisine style sopapillas also share this origin due to Pueblos and Hispanos of New Mexico having a similar subsistence at this time.[1][2] Boarding schools also helped to spread frybread in Native American diets.[3]”

It’s a symbol of colonialism, repression and, paradoxically, of overcoming those and perseverance, ingenuity and resilience despite the white attempts at genocide.

Fry Bread