On this edition of Your Call’s US at 250: A Native Perspective Series, Nephi Craig discusses his new book, Our Knives Will Save Us: Dispatches from a White Mountain Apache Chef.
After years of struggling with substance abuse, Nephi Craig discovered a talent and passion for cooking. He also experienced a profound dissonance as the only Indigenous person in culinary school and fine dining kitchens. Along the way, he discovered the power of food to heal intergenerational wounds.
Nephi Craig writes: "All of us, Native or not, are in recovery from the disease of colonialism, a system built on a set of beliefs that erode our humanity and harm the earth. Our intimate relationship with the foods we eat has been lost, but we can start to heal by reclaiming it."
Guest:
Nephi Craig, (White Mountain Apache/Diné), executive chef of Café Gozhóó in Whiteriver, AZ, advanced certified relapse prevention specialist, behavioral health technician, nutritional recovery program coordinator at the Rainbow Treatment Center in Whiteriver, Arizona, founder of the Native American Culinary Association, and author of Our Knives Will Save Us: Dispatches from a White Mountain Apache Chef
Resources:
The Guardian: The Indigenous cafe using native cuisine to help its chefs fight addiction
Civil Eats: In a New Book, Nephi Craig Champions Restorative Indigenous Food Practices
Native News Online: Q&A with White Mountain Apache Chef and Author Nephi Craig
