Chef Crystal Wahpepah, a registered member of the Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma, has long been a warrior for food sovereignty. Through her celebrated Oakland restaurant Wahpepah's Kitchen and her activism, Wahpepah seeks to reclaim Native food ways and to educate communities and organizations on their health benefits. Wahpepah was born and raised in Oakland, California, on Ohlone land, surrounded by a multi-tribal, tight-knit, urban Native community, and she is using her growing platform to tell the story of that community and its food.
With her new cookbook, A Feather and a Fork: 125 Intertribal Dishes from an Indigenous Food Warrior, Wahpepah has teamed up with ethnobotanist and food sovereignty advocate Linda Black Elk to explore the environmental, spiritual, physical, and social benefits of each dish. These same principles guide the restaurant and all of Wahpepah's work in preserving Native food ways, promoting heirloom foods, and finding connections and community between peoples.
Chef Crystal Wahpepah will be joined in conversation by Librarian Ian Hetzner in what is certain to be an educational, inspiring, and likely hunger-inducing talk. Audience Q&A and book signing will follow and Mrs. Dalloway's will be on site with copies of the book to sell.
Please register to receive updates and reminders. Registration assists with planning; however, it does not guarantee a seat. Additionally, masks are encouraged and will be provided.