Native American Recipes

The following recipes are taken from the BIA Haskell Institute high school economics cookbook which Viola E. (Patterson) Garcia Schneider used while attending Haskell from 1937-1940. Viola attended Haskell Institute after obtaining a Certificate of Indian Blood (CIB) from the Bureau of Indians Affairs and signed by Chief Sam Blue and the South Carolina Indian Agent, T.O. Flowers. Viola gave her BIA cookbook to her daughter Cynthia.

Viola has been denied Catawba tribal enrollment in spite of the clear and convincing evidence that she is a person who "belongs to the Catawba Nation" as declared in a legal federal document known as a CIB.

We hope you enjoy these recipes. We will be adding more in the future. Please feel free to submit your own family recipes as well. They can be sent to webmaster@catawba-people.com. Interested viewers may also wish to visit the Reviving True Traditional Native American Recipes sponsored by Sheila Anderson-Lewis, RN.

Wild Rose Berry Tea
Onjijitka Kalyapi

Gather the rose berries after the frost, and dry them. Pour boiling water over the berries and let stand several minutes in a covered vessel.


Wild Cherry Wojapi
Can-pa Yupapi

Boil dried cherries until tender. Put through sieve to remove seeds. Boil this fine mixture with suet, sugar, and water. Thicken with flour.


Wild Gooseberry Wojapi
I-cag-na-ska yu-ja-pi

Wash gooseberries and boil until tender. Add sugar and flour, and cook until tender.


Indian Corn Wojapi
Wag-mi-za Yukpan pi yu japi

Parch Indian corn. Grind. Add water and let boil until it thickens. Sweeten with sugar.


Indian Cabbage (Plains)

The Indian cabbage has round gray leaves that are thick and hard. It looks like lambs' quarter. Boil till tender. Serve as a vegetable or make into a soup.


Vegetable Soup

Boil dried turnips, dried pumpkins, and dried Indian squash together with a piece of suet. Boil until all vegetables are tender.