The debut cookbook from this East Bay-born, decorated Native chef centers seasonality and knowing whose land you're on

"I love to create with Indigenous ingredients. So that was the easy part, Wahpepah said. I love to cook, I'm a creator and that, but you know, writing is totally different. She enlisted the help of Condon, an experienced cookbook writer and editor, to bring her vision to life."

"Eating with the seasons, Wahpepah said, is a core tenet to Native health and wellness. It is to A Feather and a Fork as well. There are so many pillars with the book, she said. One, definitely how to eat in season. And then the other would be to know whose land you're on."

"The book's introduction includes a section titled Whose Land Do We Walk On?, which details Oakland's history as both traditional Ohlone territory and as a hub for intertribal Native communities who moved to the East Bay after the Indian Relocation Acts of 1952 and 1956."

Crystal Wahpepah, an Oakland-based chef and Kickapoo tribe member, released her debut cookbook A Feather and a Fork on March 17, co-written with experienced cookbook writer Amy Paige Condon. The book contains 125 intertribal recipes that showcase Indigenous ingredients and highlight Native producers while emphasizing seasonal eating as central to Native health and wellness. Wahpepah's culinary journey, shaped by childhood recipes and her award-winning career, brings Indigenous foods into mainstream prominence. The cookbook includes a foreword by Oakland author Tommy Orange and features an introduction section titled Whose Land Do We Walk On?, which addresses Oakland's history as traditional Ohlone territory and its significance as a hub for intertribal Native communities following the Indian Relocation Acts of 1952 and 1956.

Read at www.berkeleyside.org