Non-aboriginal people have a chance to try traditional First Nations dishes this week in Prince Albert.
Each day at Prince Albert Grand Council’s Culture Fest will focus on a different First Nation, and on Tuesday those were the Plains Cree and Dakota nations.
Outdoor cooking demonstrations all day saw visitors tasting buffalo stew, bannock, duck, and even a moose heart.
A few generations of Bev Waditaka’s Wahpeton Dakota Nation family were pitching in – from chopping wood to preparing food.
She said outdoor cooking was passed down from her parents.
“We had to cook outside a lot because we spent a lot of time outdoors when we were younger and a lot of our cooking was outside,” Waditaka said.
It was a part of a food gathering-based lifestyle.
“We were picking berries, we were posting and logging, we were hunting,” she said.
Her daughters are now carrying on those traditions with their families.
With the Culture Fest and Celebration, one goal is to show the variety of different practices between First Nations cultures.
Bev’s daughter Amber said she sees only a few minor differences.
“Everybody knows stew, everybody knows fried bannock, maybe just different meat – the meat’s different. We’re using buffalo, usually they use the elk or moose,” she said.
One example of the difference is how people planned to use a setup of poplar branches that were tied at the top, forming a square structure.
Bev explained usually they hang a pot cooking with a fire underneath, but she speculated the plan for that day was for people to dry meat for jerky or pemmican.
She said there are other elements of First Nations culture that set them apart.
“I think a lot of it is our language and our ways, some of our ways are different. Even though we have relations in Sturgeon, we have relations in James Smith, but we’re Dakota, so a lot of our values and traditions are our own,” she said.
The rest of the week will be hosted by Woodland Cree, Swampy Cree, and Dene groups at Prince Albert Grand Council’s grounds and Senator Allen Bird Memorial Gym.
For more information on the schedule of events, check out PAGC Sports, Culture, and Recreation on Facebook.