BROWNING — Mariah Gladstone, a Blackfeet and Cherokee woman from Babb in Glacier County, has found the recipe for success through her online cooking show called "Indigikitchen."
Indigikitchen uses digital media as a teaching tool to revitalize knowledge about traditional indigenous food. She started making her videos in 2017, and now they have taken off.
“I think that people, whether native or non-native, are really starting to be interested and excited with connecting healthy food systems and local food systems. That’s why making these recipes digitally accessible is so important”
It’s no lie that a lot of indigenous culture has slowly been erased from modern-day Native Americans. Now, Mariah is giving her best shot at exposing natives and non-natives back to that culture.
“It rebuilds the cultural connection for Indian country and our indigenous communities and it helps recognize how much knowledge our ancestors had”
The healthiness of every dish is Mariah’s main concern. She hand-crafts and chooses the best alternative ingredients that are both delicious, and locally accessible.
“There’s food, there’s connection, there’s culture, but there’s also a sense of place and belonging and value. Plus, we get to eat delicious foods along the way!”
Mariah was recently honored with several awards including the Dream Starter Award that she’ll use while working with FAST Blackfeet to help them build community gardens and help the community learn to grow vegetables in the harsh Montana climate.
“To help folks within our community recognize that we can rebuild our food systems and regain our food sovereignty and the ability for our community to feed ourselves is my goal”
You can check out her recipes at indigikitchen.com.
“I’m going to keep putting it out there and sharing more knowledge, especially as I continue to learn more knowledge too”
