NOTE TO USERS This reproduction is the best copy available. ® UMI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Delicious Resistance, Sweet Persistence: First Nations Culinary Arts in Canada By Annie Turner A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts In Canadian Studies Carleton University Ottawa, ON December, 2005 Copyright 2005, Annie Turner Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Library and Bibliotheque et 1*1 Archives Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 0-494-13424-0 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 0-494-13424-0 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives and Archives Canada to reproduce,Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve,sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I'lnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet,distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans loan, distribute and sell theses le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, worldwide, for commercial or non­ sur support microforme, papier, electronique commercial purposes, in microform,et/ou autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. this thesis. Neither the thesis Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de nor substantial extracts from it celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement may be printed or otherwise reproduits sans son autorisation. reproduced without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne Privacy Act some supporting sur la protection de la vie privee, forms may have been removed quelques formulaires secondaires from this thesis. ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be includedBien que ces formulaires in the document page count, aient inclus dans la pagination, their removal does not represent il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. any loss of content from the thesis. i * i Canada Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Really Judicious Fry Bread To tom fee really delicious fry bread you. need to stnrtthe night before with some long slow sweet sweet loving with the previous one of your choice This brings good dreams of swimming In cool water Listen to birds singing alive the dawn Then put on some strong Indian muslo t+nlf of the taste, the part that mnfees her rise is the joy you stir In but you start with plain old white flour l cup to l teaspoon bafelng powder § a sprlnfele of sugar This mnfees enough for 2 If you have bacon, potatoes§ eggs if It's all you have better mnfee 3 c-ups worth s ift everything a couple of times Pour In your water In a spiral The way the earth moves it helps If you're singing with your pow wow tape or laughing with your lover s tir until you get a good dough not too stlcfey kLnead In all the names who need a prayer Shape her Into a round \M.ouiA,d £j cross her In the fourdirection with a sharp fenlfe C-over with a clean red bandanna § mnfee the coffee When you've finished your prayers she'll be ready to coofe up The oil should be hot enough to mnfee your spit sputter but not smofelng Pinch off a piece of dough g roll her around to mnfee a patty pulling her flat with ojour fingers. Some people put a hole In the middle for the spirits to pass through g some roll them out on a board but 1 do It the lazy sgunw way Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. While you're frying thencdon't get caught up in writing a poem. or talking on the phone because even the crows won’t tat them burnt We love frybread in memory of the women who, thrown off theirland with death in everydawn £j starvation In their chllolren's eyes made this food so we'd all survive Each tender bite honours, ourancestors who despite the greatest genocide In world history kept on § kept on So we could share bannock this morning and love -C-hrystos(Menominee) Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT This thesis is an examination of how First Nations chefs and restauranteurs are using the culinary arts, similar to other art forms, as a means of asserting contemporary identities as well as responding to the legacy of colonialism in Canada. Colonialism has forever altered traditional Aboriginal ways of life, including artistic expressions. However, a post-colonial analysis of a broad range of work by contemporary Aboriginal artists will reveal that the arts have been used by Native people as a means of responding to colonialism as well as a way of asserting their contemporary identities. This analysis will be done using a set of theoretical principles drawn from post-colonial studies, including self-representation, authenticity, hybridity, appropriation, and cultural continuity and survival, which will later be applied to my analysis of Aboriginal haute cuisine. An in-depth ethnographical survey of historical culinary traditions among Native people in Canada will reveal that food has always been an integral part of Aboriginal lifeways, and consequently the negative impact that colonization has had on the traditional eating habits of Native people. However, by looking at the development of recent trends in Aboriginal haute cuisine using the principles developed from post­ colonial studies, it is clear that cooking is also a means, like other forms of artistic expression, of affirming and celebrating contemporary Indigenous identities. This thesis also seeks to contribute to the emerging field of Food Studies, as well as to suggest a new means of social analysis for Canadian Studies scholars. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe a great deal of gratitude to many people for helping me through the process of writing this thesis. First, I would like to thank all of the people who shared their time as well as their experiences of cooking and eating with me, Phoebe Sutherland, Shawn Adler, Bertha Skye, Bryan Skye, Danielle Medina, Robert Gairns, and Dolly Watts. Without all of you there would be no thesis to speak of. I would also like to acknowledge the help and guidance of my thesis advisor Dr. Allan Ryan. I would like to thank Molly Blyth and John Milloy for, not only their scholarly suggestions and insight, but also for their encouraging words. Thank you to Katie Bryant for coming into my life at just the right time, for being such a great friend, and also a great editor. To Nat McMullen for her editing and proofreading, without which I couldn’t have finished. Thank you to everyone at Changing Pace who were so accommodating when I was really stressed out, but for also helping to keep my body active enough to keep up with my brain. Thank you to Richard Michaud for saving my computer data when I thought I had lost it all. To Emily Farrimond, Andy Plewis, Jacob Logel and my big brother Richard Turner, for not only, reading and revising numerous copies of chapters, but also for being great friends and supports. Thanks to Nicky Cameron for making me laugh when we both felt like there was no summer left in the world. Thank you to Lana Whiskeyjack for being the greatest (and hottest) friend in Canadian Studies. To Bridget Glassco for always eating and cooking with me, and just being the best friend a person could possibly have. Thank you to all of the amazing women in my family who have inspired me to love food and cooking - Grandma Elsie, Aunt Cathy, and Nana Turner. A very special thank you to the strongest woman in my life, my mother, who always fed me well, but who has also given me lifesaving financial assistance and emotional support as I wrote this thesis. Finally, thank you most of all to my favourite eating and cooking companion, Bernard Oger, who has been a tower of unfaltering strength and loyalty throughout this process. To all of you I dedicate this thesis. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. • THE MENU • List of Figures i Amuse Bouche: Preface ii Appetizer: Introduction 1 Thesis Outline 2 History of First Nations in Canada 4 Food Studies 11 Objectives and Methods 17 First Course: Aboriginal Aesthetics and Identity Affirmation 22 First Nations Art in Canada 22 Contemporary Aesthetic Expression 29 Self-Representation 30 Authenticity 36 Hybridity 38 Appropriation 42 Cultural Continuity and Survival 48 Conclusion 54 Second Course: Historical First Nations Culinary Traditions 56 Historical Connections to Geographic Environments 57 The Maritimes 58 The Northeastern Woodlands 59 The Subarctic 62 The Prairies 64 The Plateau 65 The Northwest Coast 67 Traditional First Nations Food Preparation 68 Spiritual and Social Significance of Food among Native Cultures 74 Colonialism and Changes in Native Food Traditions 77 Conclusion 79 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.