Jessica Crabtree

“For the uninitiated and timid eaters, fry bread is a chewy concoction, flash-fried in lard, shortening or cooking oil to a toasty puff of dough. It is fluffier than a doughnut and about as big as a Frisbee…”

(HGTV: Food for the Spirit)

When you mention Chinese food, everyone knows what you have in mind: rice, stir-fried vegetables, savory sauces, fortune cookies. Italian food means pasta, pizza, fresh vegetables and & herbs; same goes for Mexican tacos and Yiddish gifillte fisch. Cuisine is an integral part of cultural identity. But who’s ever heard of Native American food?

The native foods of the Americas have in many ways become completely integrated into the Western diet. The “Three Sisters” of corn, beans, and squash – not to mention potatoes, tomatoes, and chocolate – have become ubiquitous staple crops worldwide. They’ve become so well established that it’s easy to forget that they were unknown to most of the world prior to the last few centuries. Without them many a beloved ethnic menu wouldn’t exist.

(See also: Food for Thought)

But beyond these widespread contributions, there is an obvious absence of any identifying cultural cuisine that unifies the face (and stomach!) of today’s Native America – with the one notable exception of frybread.

Cherokee or Navajo, Lakota or Zuni – frybread is universally known throughout Indian country. This funnel-cake counterpart is the one distinctively Indian food, enjoyed in homes and prepared at powwows across the country, while it’s comparatively unknown outside of this setting.

Ironically, this single hallmark dish of modern Native Americans originates not from any traditional Native cuisine, but from the bulk-issued flour and lard supplied to reservations in the 19th century.

Furthermore, its prevalence has become a source of growing controversy among those concerned about its negative contribution to the health of Native peoples.

Read more about the history and the impact of this scrumptious culinary quandary:

Smithsonian Magazine: FRYBREAD

MSNBC: The Great Debate Over Frybread