Cherokee National Treasure Edith Knight knows a lot about cooking. She shares the story of her youth, growing up and falling in love in the Cherokee Nation and her recipe for the traditional favorite: kanuchi.
"I'd like to be thought of as a giving person, a loving person." How many people strive for such a high goal? We would have a better society if that was our goal instead of things and money. Blessings to all who watch this video.
Heavenly Kiya I agree but it should not cost you a fortune to learn your family history.i remember a time when the internet was young that I could find out a lot of information like phone numbers and addresses of people I knew just by typing in their name free of charge... now they charge everything..I used to be able to find out who had a specific area code and digit phone number. If I have a predator calling me everyday why should I have to pay to keep that monitored?
Yeah was a lot easier to obtain information back than I remember yellow page phone number I think you have to pay for that now. Smh different times we’re living in
Here's a history lesson... rice came to the Americas on a ship that crashed... long after Europeans had begun taking over. A wild rice like grain called Manoomin is native to the great lakes region but while you and I couldn't tell it from other wild rice it's technically not rice... in a strictly botanical sense. It is unlikely that the Cherokee had access to very much of this Manoomin as it grew in the Chippewa Nation, and would have had to be traded for. So the history of this recipe is limited to be only as old as the mid to late 1600's... or else before that it was a rare treat and slightly different, if not entirely nonexistent. So there's how to date a recipe based on the availability of the ingredients.
My Great Grandma is Cherokee and married My Great Grandpa who was Scott-Irish. My Grandma used to make this for us when we were little. I never knew what it was called. Thanks for sharing!
The elders who share their stories are truly treasures. My husband is half Seneca and we do our best to teach our daughters about both of our family histories.
I remember as a child sitting in the woods and cracking open hickory nuts between 2 rocks until I was stuffed, 😊 such fond memories... Thanks to the precious lady for the recipe and the wisdom.
Eating this with my grandma is one of my many favorite memories from my childhood .now I've padded this onto my children. I would love to sit and listen to Miss Edith for days, just to hear her knowledge
Made me so homesick. She said chalk bluff a tear fell out. When I cook traditional food everyone thinks it's weird. I don't know how many times I've heard "Wild onions whats that?" I miss everything I miss all the water, mountains the trees and food I miss Kanuchi the most. Dallas is so different.
Margaret Wilson we have inter tribal powwows, that's as close as DFW gets. Beautiful dancers. A bit of fry bread. A crossover hominy/elotes, etc. But Kinnuvchi makes me miss my grandmother... Glad to know Dallas doesn't feel like home. That really resonated with me, and I've been here 20+ years
Never mind people who think weird... it's part of YOU so they can get on board with it or go someplace else. I would LOVE to have even learned about my heritage but the Grandparents and etc were Christian and REFUSED to ever pass down anything, breaks my heart...
*My mother always made rice pudding, and would also make rice milk (no real milk in it), and give it to us when ever we had some fever or digestion problems as kids or babies, as a source of nutrition to prevent dehydration or hunger while sick ...*
I miss kanuchi SO MUCH. Our traditional foods are so important for us to preserve. Like our language, our amscetral foods are also a part of who we are that make up the WHOLE of WHO we are. I miss being in the kitchen with my grandmother's making OUR food. It was tradition for them to tell stories and sharing memories of the past about how it was in thier time growing up. Stories about thier own mothers and the things they did in keeping with our traditions. How they made beds, pillows, blankets the old way. How it was tradition that before the girls got married and left home how the mother's would make these items and give them to thier daughters for thier new lives in thier new homes. They would tell stories to of the husbands building their marriage homes the traditional Cherokee way. And the recipes! Not just for foods, but for medicines. Many of these things I still use today. I am so happy they taught me how, and put into me the importance of learning. These things have actually helped me during the worst moments of my life, and through many illnesses. They taught me how to survive and to do it real well. I never fear when times are lean. With this knowledge, I KNOW me and mine will make it even if the WHOLE of society fails. ****Any young Cherokee girls out there who might be reading this and think the old ways are silly and outdated*****There is need of this knowledge being passed to you. It is important for the preservation and continuity of our people in SO many ways! 1) If any bad things happen in your life, these ways will help you make it through. The memories of your grandmothers will save you and your future families. The old way teaches you MANY lessons and becomes a part of who you will be when you become a woman and a mother. Honor the elders and listen to them. Honor our people, traditions, culture, and our languages. It isn't just our tribal identity, it's who we are as individuals inside the tribal identity. Each one of you who learns it takes a role in ensuring OUR survival as a tribal people. Learn these ways and keep them with you. Stay connected to it deeply. Know that there are not many full bloods left. That is very threatening, AND problematic to our people. I am a mixed woman. I think about it from the stand point of a registered mixed woman of our beautiful Cherokee Nation. It is sad for me. Many of the women before us felt they had no choice BUT to assimilate. Sometimes it meant their lives if they didn't. Some had no choice at all. It was FORCED on them. It was part of an old plan to kill the Indian, save the man and that agenda is STILL in force today. Us mixed people had no choice of what's in our gene pools. That was decided for us because of that agenda to assimilate and destroy the tribal peoples. If you are a full blood, please, take it in your heart to stay that way. I pray that you do listen. YOU girls today are the future and survival of our tribe and YOU are so important. This message does not come to you from a racially hateful place in my soul, it comes from the love of our ancestors before us and the hopes they had for us to survive and always be the principle people. I like everyone in the world, but we need our tribe to always be and never dissapear from this earth. No matter what the tribes do, You are the ONLY ones with the power to preserve and save our people. I can't even impress that importance onto you in a way that is adequate. It is very urgent. Peace, love, and many blessings to all you young Cherokee girls. You are the future mothers of an entire race of people and the only ones who can ensure that we will ALWAYS be the Cherokee Nation. Though my genes didn't give me the chance, I will use the Cherokee in me to encourage ALL of you girls. Always be proud that you are also American citizens, but first and MOST importantly, you are Cherokee Nation Citizens. You ARE the tribe. ❤❤❤
This makes me sad because my family tried to unlearn Cherokee ways. My great great grandma thought it would be better if we never looked back to see the family we left behind. She raised her daughter's as American as she could leaving us with a sense of sadness. We can't teach anyone the Cherokee ways because they were taken from us.
That's why girls should spend as much time as they can with mawmaw to learn cooking and medicines ;sewing etc it's gonna be lost forever if they don't learn !
Osiyo, wado and A'ho. Very profound are your words, yet I am Cherokee and a man who is just as important to our tribe as our women, the other half that makes us whole.
All that you share is a treasure. Your dresses are so beautiful. My mother was part Cherokee from Kentucky and she told us that her 5th grade teacher told her to be proud of her heritage, which made an impression on her because I knew it was still hard in those days. Thank you for sharing your story.
It’s not right to stop any human from expressing their culture and speaking the language of their ancestors. Don’t forget this same scenario happened in many Nations and not just the USA, Canada and South America, but also Australia, New Zealand, Africa and Polynesia.
Thank you for sharing. I know virtually nothing about my Cherokee heritage...only found out fairly recently that I am part Cherokee. It gives me great joy to see you and listen to you, especially to learn about a native dish. I feel like you are very fortunate to have been able to learn and practice so much of Cherokee customs and culture. It's really sad you were not able to learn the language. Still you've been able to pass on so much to your grandchildren. They are fortunate for receiving Cherokee heritage from you. I hope they keep passing it along to future generations.
Makes me cry, I was Picked on at school as I was different looking and one one called me Glenda they called me Hey Little Indian girl. I had a awful school life. Being part Cherokee and Greek mix I really looked Am Cherokee and was picked on awful. I learned from that and I am a Better person. I don't break easy. Great Lady
@@shym9933 that's you. Even now I get picked on for looking Mexican even though I'm Cherokee Shawnee and ojibwe. Youre probably a light skin so no one thought of you as looking different.
Thank you for preserving the traditions of the tribe. I only recently discovered of my Cherokee ancestry as well as rights to citizenship. Thank you for letting me discover our culture and history.
Thank you for this show and all the knowledge it is passing on. My grandfather was Cherokee..his nickname was Cherokee as well...he didn't pass on much about the culture, he was a quiet man. I have learned a lot from this..thank u.
She is a Cherokee National treasure! I'm so proud to be in the same tribe. Oh! If more people were like her on the earth- it would be a better place to live.God Bless You!
What a beautiful moment for me. I've known most of my life we are Cherokee but am just now learning we are part of the Keetoowah Tribe. I've Never heard of this Tribe but I am sooo excited to learn who I am...who my family is. My GG Grandma Ludie Mae Stanfield had such horrible life bc she was Black Cherokee and her death was horrid. I know very little about her or my GG Grandfather Bert Fowler was so vicious to her and my G Grandpa John Fowler. I AM SO PROUD to learn who I am. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing with me.
What a beautiful lady. I could listen to her tell stories in that Oklahoma accent all day. It's so important to keep culture and traditions alive....ALL of them.
Look at that beautiful young girl. She looked so happy. I hope with all my heart she was. Love, you are a national treasure and Keeper of your heritage.
My Cherokee sister shared this video with me. I have Hickory trees on our property. She and I will have to make this! Thank you for sharing so we can learn!
My great grandmother was approximately half Cherokee & her last name was Knighten. Here in Asheville, NC, western mountains. I don't want to "claim" anything... I just don't want any of this to die away from this world.
My great grandmother was Cherokee .i would stay 2 weeks of my summer break from school. Loved being with her and hearing stories like the first time seeing a airplane in flight she was around 13 or14 years old .
My grandmother used to make kanuchi I loved it as a kid but haven't had it In about 30 years! Thanks for the info....I'll be cooking some up this fall!
Ty for the vid. My grandmother was half Cherokee and took care of me until I was 5. She made something called "hot salad". I have looked for the recipe on southern food channels and nobody ever heard of it. My grandmothers tribe was from Georgia. None of my family ended up in OK, or Ark. My great-grandmothers married Scots-Irishmen and eventually were in South-Central Ky. Is anyone familiar with hot salad? I know she put some very hot peppers in, cucumber, onions, vinegar, and some sugar. I have mixed that, but it's not like my grandmothers. She was born in the early 1890s. If you know the ingredients or recipe, please let me know. I am 73 and would love to make some before I pass on. Ty.
Hello shrimpymuscles, I'm 73 yrs old, from Smoky Mts TN. My version of what you mentioned would be called "chowchow". I grew up on it & made plenty of it. Many people just call it relish. Not so many people are into canning & preserving today( young people) but it's been lifelong for me. I enjoy it immensely & it's a commonsense way of life. Be blessed
@@sandraking9650 I learned how to make chow chow from my mother-in-law, but it was very different from my grandmothers hot salad. My grandmother used fresh ingredients . I don't think I had the hot salad year round. I can't imagine my grandmother buying any vegetables from a store. She had huge gardens. I'm going to turn 74 this coming Sunday. My mother didn't like spicy hot food. She just used fresh yellow onions and cucumbers. She added vinegar, water, oil, and salt and pepper.
I was so happy to see this, I have a Edith Knight in my family book, I hope this is her. My family came from the Virginia into TN and KY but, I live in IL., Hope to see more.
Thank you so very much for sharing. I feel the strength of my ancestors flowing in my blood. I hear the call of my people and the knowledge of them calling to me always. Love to you all. Blessings
She reminds me of my mother R.I.P.. My mother was of Choctaw scotch Irish and African decent. But being part African American she did not get any recognition for being native, but as a child she made sure I knew about it via pow wows and having some native American friends.
Actually, I like this recipe for one reason, it shows that the Cherokee, though the white settlers had moved in and food trading had begun, the Cherokee's introduction to rice... The good thing about this is that it shows that the Cherokee's still had their own culture, which was not the same as their caucasian neighbors. I made my own #Cherokee grandmother teach me the edible wild plants and how to cook them before she passed away, and it was different than that of other farmers around them. Digging roots of, and leaves of things such as narrow dock, broad dock, etc. The thing that I noticed was her embarassment by it, which should not have been the case. If you can forage it, why waste money buying in a store. In her time period it was a shame to not eat store bought breads, the same "white bread," made of bleached flour that has no nutrients, and has caused cancer. Give me the edible wild plants any day, at least it has nutritional quality, was not raised on a plat of ground that has been used to garden so many years that there is no minerals left in the soil. Thanks for the recipe. Maybe we'll swap recipes some day.
Strange: My mother is Cherokee from Colorado her father was a Tribe leader and her Mom and Grandma were Cherokee and Irish from Arkansas . My father full Irish. Thank you for the Videos may the Great spirit be with us .YaHuWaH
very cool recipe, and cool woman. makes me wish i had gotten to meet any of my great grandparents or grandparents before they passed, there's a lot i would've asked them.
I've never heard of this. I am so thankful to you tube because we are able to come together without political or religious beliefs and share and enjoy our differences. This is the way I believe we were meant to live. I will never look at a nut in the same way again. Thank you so much for sharing your customs with the world
We pronouce it a little different, but I learned to make something very similar from my grandfather in Alabama. (I am in my 60s). We are Cherokee. He liked to eat it with beans or sweet potatoes. He also liked to add sugar cane juice.
My Grandfather was a Spanish Apache from Lincoln New Mexico USA he would make something similar it was called Aroz Dulce con canella "sweet rice with cinnamon" I love this channel thank you for sharing
Such a wise lady... Always hold on to you're beliefs... The indigenous native ppl of America...knew how to respect the earth....it was their land in a way it will (never) be anybody else's.. Respect ..love from me.💖💕💟💓💜💝💛💚💗
katy I know this is an old comment, but some older generations saw it as protection for the younger people. Our ancestors went through alot. When i was a girl my grandmother told me stories of boarding schools where she was forced to cut her hair and speak only English. She rarely speaks or sings in our native language. I
Of my Cherokee relatives some were born on Cherokee land [their parents may not have been I'm not sure]. As kids they learned the language, they learned and loved the culture. When the moved off reservation they took English names (though still spoke the language in private) I don't even know their birt/Cherokee names. What I do know is that we must learn what they were made to forget, they forgot it to protect us, it's the least we can do to remember them.
Native Americans had to apply for citizenship in the 1920s. I am Red Lake Ojibwa and have learned many traditional foods. Grain rice or wild rice was one I couldn't fathom nor mutton. Thank you for the lesson.
I wondered what those nuts were , till I saw that they were Walnuts! Seriously healthy to eat. I eat a small handful daily, and never learned that from the Cherokee. Maybe it’s our love of Walnuts that make me want to be nothing more than a loving and giving person too, just like Betty. Thank you
Miss Smith. God Bless you. You remind me of my Grandmother Pearson-Yancey. Your food we ate a lot of. Poke salid with Egg. Your meat you was cooking in that cast iron skillet looked so good..We use to eat hickory nuts, and Black walnuts. Sure wish I knew more about My Family. My great grandmother was full blood. Her last name was Morgan. Love this video.
These make me feel so connected to my roots, my great grandfather was a Cherokee national and food has connected me to this day to the traditions. Thank you for these insightful videos! 🌿🙏🏽🌿
