Native American Food Taster includes hoop dancing demo
The Native American Food Taster offered more than a cheap meal and a good show.
About 300 students enjoyed food, dance and song at the event, held as part of Native American Awareness Month.
The taster began at monday evening in the Bovee University Center Rotunda. Well before the start of the event, a line of people extended down the hallway reaching to the Central Michigan University Bookstore.
After many of the tasters finished gathering their food, a hoop dance was performed while they ate.
“I’ve been hoop dancing for a few months. I learned with my tribe, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians,” said Charleviox sophomore Raymond Shenoskey. “I learned that the hoop represents life because there is no beginning and no ending.”
The items on the menu included wild rice, cranberries, an assortment of nuts, sauteed vegetables, roasted turkey, corn soup, fried bread and strawberry shortcake. The speaker for the event, Nathan Issac, said the foods on the menu are very important aspects of American Indian culture.
Alma resident Mark Prout attended the food taster for the second consecutive year.
“I enjoy different kinds of foods; this allows me to get outside the box,” he said. “I liked the wild rice, it had its own taste and it was simple with not a lot of additives. It’s nice to get to know new people too.”
Audience members joined in a few dances while American Indian vocalists sang traditional songs.
When Director of Native American Programs Colleen Green joined the North American Indigenous Student Organization in 2007, the food taster was held off-campus. She said she revitalized the program by bringing it on campus.
Green said in the past, their native recipes were not cooked properly, so a collaboration with the Aramark catering company allowed foods to be prepared accurately.
“A lot of people do not understand our culture and traditions,” Green said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to learn more — it’s not every day you get to eat fried bread or wild rice.”
