Javelina, Portland's first Indigenous restaurant, transitioned from a pop-up to a permanent venue, offering Native American dishes. Co-owned by Alexa and Nick Numkena-Anderson, it features items like fry bread tacos and Hopi corn tamales, showcasing traditional ingredients. Starting February 8, the nighttime dinner concept Inɨ́sha will provide a multi-course experience using only native ingredients from Indigenous suppliers. Chef Alexa's heritage influences the menu, creating a blend of personal and cultural significance in the cuisine, making Indigenous food accessible within a 180-mile radius.
"Us offering Indigenous food as a whole is a very special experience," says chef Alexa Numkena-Anderson, who co-owns Javelina with her husband, Nick.
"You can't really go out and be like, 'Let's go have some Indigenous foods tonight for dinner.'"
Fry bread has a complicated history as a survival food for Indigenous people who were forcibly displaced from their homelands onto reservations.
Javelina will use only ingredients native to 'Turtle Island,' provided by other Indigenous businesses wherever possible.
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