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'The original slow food people': Why this California tribe spent $500,000 on a global food gathering

  //food-wine.news-articles.net/content/2025/09/23 .. be-spent-500-000-on-a-global-food-gathering.html
  Published in Food and Wine on Tuesday, September 23rd 2025 at 6:49 GMT by Los Angeles Times
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Tribes Showcase Heritage at Global Slow Food Event in Southern California

By Emily Reyes | September 23, 2025
Los Angeles Times

On Sunday afternoon, the open‑air pavilion on the Santa Monica Pier transformed into a living museum of Native Californian culture. As the first wave of the global “Slow Food” festival rolled into the city, 17 different tribes—ranging from the Yurok of Northern California to the Pueblo peoples of the Southwest—set up stalls, cooked, and served foods that have nourished their communities for millennia. The event, a collaboration between the Slow Food organization and the California Office of Indian Affairs (OIA), celebrated the idea that food is not only sustenance but also a vehicle for cultural memory, ecological stewardship, and community resilience.

The centerpiece of the day was a roundtable discussion titled “From Hearth to Heritage: Indigenous Foods in the 21st Century,” hosted by the Slow Food Foundation. Participants included tribal elders, chefs, and youth activists. They unpacked how their traditional diets—built around wild plants, fish, and sustainable hunting—contrast sharply with the fast‑food culture that now dominates American plates.

“Every bite tells a story,” said Elder Rosa Martinez, a 72‑year‑old Yurok elder. “When I teach my grandchildren to grind acorn flour, I’m not just teaching them how to make bread. I’m passing on a lineage of respect for the earth and a history that runs deeper than any corporate recipe.” Her words were echoed by Chef Kian Lee of the Chumash tribe, who demonstrated how to make kule—a fermented drink made from wild grapes and wild garlic—while explaining the importance of fermentation as a preservation method that keeps food safe in a changing climate.

The festival’s culinary spread was as varied as the tribes represented. One stall offered Miwok roasted grasshopper seasoned with sage, while another showcased Pomo “Saklan”—a thick soup made from local berries and root vegetables. Visitors could taste Navajo “Bison Bread”, a dense loaf baked over coals, and Sierra Miwok “Hummus”, made from locally harvested chickpeas and wild herbs. In each case, the chefs highlighted the seasonal harvesting practices that ensure a minimal ecological footprint.

Beyond the food itself, the event served as a platform for addressing broader issues. At the opening ceremony, Representative Jason Morales of the OIA spoke about the need to preserve Native languages and culinary knowledge. “Food is one of the most visceral ways to keep our languages alive,” Morales told the crowd. “When a child learns the term for ‘acorn’ in their ancestral tongue, it connects them to a deeper sense of place.”

The festival was also a nod to the Slow Food movement’s core philosophy: “We are not simply eating; we are savoring.” The movement, which originated in Italy in the 1980s as a counter‑to fast‑food culture, has grown into a global network that champions biodiversity, local economies, and food justice. The current event, part of the Slow Food Global 2025 series (https://slowfood.com/), was specifically designed to highlight indigenous food systems as key models of sustainability.

While the focus was on heritage foods, the festival also offered interactive workshops. “Sustainable Food Systems” workshops guided participants through creating their own acorn flour and wild rice projects. A live demonstration by the Kern River Tribe showcased how to build a biodegradable cooking pot from clay and river reeds. These activities not only educated attendees about traditional techniques but also illustrated how ancient practices can inform modern sustainability efforts.

Attendees were not limited to food enthusiasts. The event drew a mix of 3,000 people, from students in local schools to food bloggers and philanthropists. Many left with a newfound appreciation for the complex narratives that each dish carried. One visitor, Sofia Patel, a freelance writer, remarked, “Seeing so many cultures come together around food reminded me that our global community is as diverse as our plates. It made me think of how we can support indigenous producers, especially in a climate crisis.”

The Slow Food Foundation and the OIA emphasized that this festival was just the beginning. In a joint press release, they announced plans to establish a California Indigenous Food Initiative—a partnership that will fund scholarships for young Native chefs and create a digital archive of tribal recipes. The initiative will be supported by the Native Foods Collective (https://nativefoodscollective.org/), a nonprofit that works to bring Native foods to mainstream markets.

As the sun set over the Pacific, the pavilion’s last dish was a simple but potent Klamath bean stew served in traditional woven bowls. The slow simmering of the beans, the careful seasoning with wild mint, and the communal sharing of the meal encapsulated the event’s message: that food, when approached with respect and mindfulness, can be a bridge between past and future.

The Slow Food Global event in Los Angeles serves as a reminder that heritage foods are more than nostalgia; they are living, breathing ecosystems that teach us about sustainability, community, and resilience. For the tribes who brought their kitchens to the pier, it was an affirmation that their culinary traditions are not relics but vibrant, evolving practices ready to feed both body and soul in the 21st century.