Power of Indigenous Foods workshop showcases Indigenous cuisine and culture

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s Peer Wellness department hosted the Power of Indigenous Foods workshop on June 2 at the Cloverdale Tech campus.

Led by chef Steph Baryluk, who is Teetl’it Gwich’, the session focused not only on traditional Indigenous foods but their significance.

Baryluk says she was also inspired to host workshops to showcase the culture of Indigenous Peoples to KPU students.

“It’s June, Indigenous History Month, so by hosting these workshops and showcasing a lot of our ingredients and products, [it] really gives us the chance to share,” Baryluk said in an interview with The Runner. “That’s what we do as Indigenous People — we share.”

Baryluk also leads Nihkhah, a company that offers culinary workshops, training, and education opportunities. 

The term Nihkhah in the Teetl’it Gwich’in language means “gathering” or “together,” which is present in the company’s mission to integrate Indigenous knowledge into institutions and public life and support Indigenous leaders in guiding the future of how food is grown and valued.

“We’ve developed programs to go into elementary schools,” Baryluk told The Runner. “We created a whole Indigenous food program for a university. So we’re looking at getting Indigenous foods in the public institutions, educating, training, bringing people together through food and just creating delicious Indigenous cuisine.”

The workshop at KPU started with an Indigenous land acknowledgment and introductory speech about Indigenous food culture from Lekeyten, KPU’s Indigenous Elder in residence, who also welcomed Baryluk to the university.

During the workshop, Baryluk shared and displayed photos of traditional Indigenous foods, such as dried caribou meat and smoked whitefish from the Mackenzie Delta region, among others. Baryluk explained that smoking food is one of the traditional methods Indigenous Peoples have used for a very long time to preserve it.

The Porcupine caribou herd, which travels through the Yukon, have been harvested by Indigenous Peoples for generations, Baryluk said, adding the animals continue to thrive in their environment. 

“If you were to walk to my community and step one foot outside my parents’ house, there would be untouched land for miles and miles,”  Baryluk said during the workshop. “The good thing of that is we own all our own land, but our animals are still free to roam … and that plays so much into who we are.”

Baryluk added Indigenous Peoples make use of the entire caribou, from nose to tail, and not just select cuts of meat.

She brought a pair of traditional moccasins, the bottoms of which were made from moose hide and sewn by her mother.

Another way Indigenous Peoples use the animal is by incorporating caribou antler into jewelry, such as earrings. Baryluk showed a pair made by her niece, with a piece of caribou antler placed in the centre of the earrings.

Baryluk also brought books with recipes of how to cook Indigenous dishes as well as samples of some traditional dishes, such as bannock, dried sage jam, and pure birch syrup, among others, which attendees could smell and taste. 

Baryluk said when working with people, whether Indigenous or non-Indigenous, it is important for her to build positive relationships.

“If we are going to work with someone, we need to start those first conversations. Working with Indigenous groups or Indigenous people, you really want to understand what it is they want [and consider how we] respectfully work together,” Baryluk said.

“It’s more than checking off a box. It’s really going back to how we used to connect previously, over a cup of tea, inviting someone to your house face to face.”

Courtney Schouten, a KPU student and attendee at the event, tried the bannock many times and was interested in attending the workshop to learn more.

“I feel kind of disconnected from my culture because I’m Métis and I just don’t know much about it, so I’ve learned that … learning history pieces of Indigenous culture can help you to get reconnected — and you learn things indirectly through all that,” Schouten said. 

For Baryluk, having her Nihkhah company and conducting these workshops is the way to showcase Indigenous food to the community as well as inspire Indigenous youth. 

“It’s also very inspiring for our youth to see their food being showcased, for our Elders, who lived through so much loss within our culture, to see our food being shared at such a high level,” Baryluk said at the workshop.

“This whole journey that we started with this company is definitely something that I want to see through, and I want to keep pushing and see where we could also end up.”

The next Power of Indigenous Foods workshops will take place at the Langley campus on June 9 and the Richmond campus on June 11. The events take place from noon to 1:30 pm.

To register, visit forms.office.com/r/si2bk2JcpQ.