‘Taste of Culture’ kicks off Native American History Month

By Sarah Daponde

Asst. Arts & Features Editor

Adrien Gobin / THE GATEPOST

The Center for Inclusive Excellence collaborated with members of the Natick Nipmuc Tribal Community to host a “Taste of Culture” event on Nov. 12 to celebrate Native American History Month. The “Taste of Culture” series, hosted in the CIE, celebrates an array of cultures through traditional cuisine and community engagement. President Nancy Niemi attended the event and said, “I love that we are expanding our definitions of diversity. … Diversity is what we do every day and our different communities are a part of us.” Along with several Native American recipes, the event featured traditional Native American flute playing and a table of artifacts attendees could examine. Director of the Center for Inclusive Excellence Jerome Burke said this event is part of an effort for the University to build a connection with the Native Nipmuc tribe. Burke welcomed Maria Turner, chairwoman and genealogist of the Nipmuc Tribe, Shani Turner, medicine woman of the Nipmuc Tribe, Tanya Thomas, treasurer of the Nipmuck Tribe, and Emma Jo Mills-Brennan, a Mashpee Wampanoag flutist who performed at the event. He said FSU is on Indigenous land and it’s important to do more than just talk about that. He said creating programs and having members of the Nipmuc Tribe on campus helps students connect with them. “A lot of the time, when we think about our Indigenous community, it seems very historic. But they’re living and breathing and they’re among us today, so we want our students on campus to really appreciate that,” Burke added. The assortment of dishes included cornbread, a dish made with rice and beans called “Jog,” baked beans, fried cod with remoulade sauce, and Blueberry Slump. The dishes were all made at FSU with the help of the Nipmuc Tribe’s recipes. Thomas, whose indigenous name is Fair Wind, said the Nipmuc community worked with the chefs at FSU to create the menu for the event, which Thomas said included foods their ancestors would have eaten. Burke said he believes food is a great way for people to connect with each other and is at the center of many social gatherings. “We’re talking about their food and their menu, and just having our community enjoy that,” he added. He said he believes food preservation and security is a big part of social justice, especially in light of the recent uncertainty of SNAP benefits. Shani Turner brought in turtle shells, ores used for fishing, and other artifacts. She said the focus of this year’s Taste of Culture event was food sovereignty. She said their focus for the event was educating people on how to live a healthy life and comparing pre-colonization and post-colonization food. “I brought an engorged zucchini squash, which you would see today … in comparison to what a natural squash would look like, which would hold more nutrients and would sustain you more than this engorged one,” she added. Community Resource Officer Andrew Frimpong attended the event. “It’s definitely good to come and learn about different cultures and see what’s going on,” he said. Sophomore Ezra Mason said he believes hosting events like these at FSU builds a more diverse and accepting campus. “I think it’s really important for us to be able to learn from each other and accept each other. I think to do that, we need to understand other cultures and the significance of certain practices,” Mason added. Izayah Morgan, senior and diversity peer influencer for the CIE, helped set up and run the event. “It’s so important to highlight different communities every month and I really love that Jerome acknowledges that we’re on taken land. I feel like it’s so important to have [the Nipmuc people] come in and grace us with their culture and their food,” Morgan added. [ Editor’s Note: Izayah Morgan is the Opinions Editor for The Gatepost. ]