This episode explores the history and complexities of the simple dish of fry bread and talks with a CPN photographer who traveled North American to capture Potawatomi from all 9 Nations in regalia. We’ll also hear from the CPN Language Department about food and hear a recipe for corn pancakes.
Celebrate National Taco Day with CPN
National Taco Day on October 4 celebrates the many ways to prepare one of America’s favorite dishes, including a base of fry bread. Citizen Potawatomi Nation employees serve up made-to-order fry bread tacos for lunch and dinner at FireLake Fry Bread Taco, which opened in 2014.
“We like to not make the fry bread until they come in. Unless we have a line, then we have someone back there who’s making it all the time. But other than that, it’s fresh. It’s made fresh. It’s cooked fresh, and everything’s fresh,” said FireLake Restaurants Director Tammy Tate.
Find FireLake Fry Bread Taco on Facebook @frybreadtaco.
Photographer releases legacy project highlighting Tribal members, history
Since 2010, Chicago photographer and Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal member Sharon Hoogstraten has been documenting members from the Potawatomi nations across North America for her book Dancing for Our Tribe.
Throughout the last 12 years, she has attended many events to capture the images that comprise the book she released in August 2022. More than that, Hoogstraten also collected family stories, Potawatomi history, poems, descriptions and artwork — all featured.
“It is my legacy. With the exception of my family, there is nothing I have done in my lifetime that is more important than this book. Nothing. My interests in photography are dwindling. That door is starting to close for me. But this book is what I did with my life. It’s the most important thing I’ve ever worked on. I can’t imagine anything that could top it,” Hoogstraten said.
Order Dancing for Our Tribe from the University of Oklahoma Press at cpn.news/DFOT.
Learning Language
HOST IN: It’s time for Learning Language, when the CPN Language Department joins us to teach vocabulary, songs, stories and more. In this segment, department director Justin Neely goes over some food vocabulary and shares a special recipe.
For more information and opportunities with language, including self-paced classes, visit cpn.news/language. You can find an online dictionary at potawatomidictonary.com as well as videos on YouTube. There are also Potawatomi courses on the language-learning app Memrise.
Hownikan Podcast is produced and distributed by Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Public Information Department. Subscribe to Hownikan Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud and wherever you find your favorite shows. Find digital editions of the Tribal newspaper here.