Indigenous foods highlighted in new web series

By Melissa Piche Times Contributor

Strathmore local and New York-based chef Morgan Lee is releasing a new web-based video series that will feature food practices and culture from Siksika Nation.

The web-series, which was recorded last year, will be released in early June and available on her YouTube channel (@missproduce).

This new series called Cooking in Canada, Season 2 was filmed over seven days in the Strathmore and Siksika Nation area and will feature 10 videos focusing on traditional Indigenous food. 

“I wanted to really highlight Indigenous cooking because I thought it’s something that the average person doesn’t think about, doesn’t know about and doesn’t really have access to and I though there should be more of an understanding about these different foods.” 

Lee said they also learned about the history behind the different foods and the meanings behind them, also the connection between spirituality and food relationship. 

“We went to Drumheller and there is this teacher in Drumheller who gifted us some Saskatoon berries and we made a dish called Berry Soup, which is a very sacred dish and we did a mini version of the prayer ceremony when you eat berry soup,” said Lee. 

This special moment will be featured in one of the episodes. They also learned the significance with the shape of Bannock, which is considered a very special food. 

“The circle is a really important symbol for the Indigenous people; all of that is tied together and all of that is explained in the series,” said Lee. 

She partnered with a former teacher she had at Westmount school right here in Strathmore, Heather John. The two had formed a strong bond and connection throughout Lee’s elementary school years. John and Lee stayed connected and were finally able to work together with Lees’ newest YouTube endeavor. Another neat twist to this story is the fact that John’s son is an award-winning photojournalist: Gavin John who was also eager to join in on this project. 

There was a team of five that worked on this project – Lee, Heather John, Gavin John and two of Lee’s friends from Mexico – Anna and Andrea. 

She has worked with Anna before and she loves these types of projects where she can bring people together from different areas and walks of life. 

“Really share something meaningful over learning about each other’s cultures and learning about food,” said Lee. “I think food is such a good way to understand another person.”

John is a Cree Métis woman and having the opportunity to showcase traditional Plains Indigenous food and cooking practices was something she was eager to be a part of. 

“I provided the moose nose,” John laughed. “I provided most of the ingredients and then cooked with Lee.” 

John has a strong connection with Siksika Nation having been adopted into the Wolfleg family. 

“They are very knowledgeable about traditional ways,” she said. “It was just a really good opportunity to showcase them as well.” 

John was the connection between Lee and the Indigenous people of Siksika Nation. 

Clarence Wolfleg Senior (Agar) blessed the whole project and his son Clarence Wolfleg Junior (Skip) did a traditional drumming piece by the river. The project as a whole was very respectful of the culture and they were welcomed into the community with full hearts. 

Lee said that John was very instrumental in teaching about Indigenous culture in the school. At Westmount during that time, they had an Indigenous awareness week. 

Along with the cooking aspect of her series, Lee also said they were able to visit Lisa Bigsnake.

“(She) has … two white buffalo on her property and we were able to go and interact with the white buffalo which is a sacred animal,” said Lee.

People can visit Lee’s YouTube channel (@missproduce) to take in the newest series which will release the first week of June.