The Advancing Pathways project at Dartmouth was conceived of and received funding before the global pandemic and social distancing began. Within the budget for the project, funds were earmarked for in-person workshops and meetings. As sharing meals is an important part of building relationships and mutual understanding, catering was part of the budget for these gatherings. Although sharing meals together during our online workshops and gatherings has not been possible, our team has used the catering budget for the gatherings to purchase foods from Indigenous-owned businesses and shared them with participants. Prior to the “Respecting our Relations” workshop, participants were given Thunder Island Coffee from the Shinnecock Nation and Passamaquoddy Maple syrup. Library and museum staff enjoyed these gifts during the workshop.
We are also sending Indigenous food gifts to our advisors and those who have taken the time to share their expertise with us. It has been great fun to gather these foods including: smoked salmon from Tlingit and Haida homelands, Tanka bars from the Oglala Lakota, chokecherry syrup and wild rice pancakes from the Red Lake Ojibwe Nation, and olive oils and vinegar from the Seka Hills of the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation.
If you have favorite foods from Indigenous-owned businesses that you think we should know about, we’d love to hear from you!
