Native American Cooking and Recipes Part I - Pemmican

Native American cooking and recipes cover a broad spectrum. From the east, south, west and northern regions each with their own indigenous food sources. This article covers the Western Plains Indians, specifically Lakota (Sioux).

Many techniques and methods of cooking are not used today except on rare occasions when a ceremony would require it. In ceremony, the food is cooked outdoors over hot coals or buried in the ground over hot coals. Originally, cooking vessels were rawhide containers. Heated stones were added to the mixture to heat. Most meat and produce were dried. So this method worked well since the ingredients were dried there wasn’t any “cooking” per se, just a heating of ingredients.

Most foods were eaten raw or dried, since the process of building a fire is time consuming and uses a lot of wood. The dried foods were not dull or lacking in flavor. They were mixed with other ingredients. An example of this is what many people know as “Pemmican”. In Lakota it is called “Wasna” (Was-nah).
Wasna is also a traditional food for sacred ceremony. When prepared for ceremony there are specific methods and actions required. I will write another article on Cooking for Ceremony at a later date.

The following is the traditional recipe for making this wonderful and tasty food called “Wasna”.

Wasna
Dried meat without any seasonings, not even salt.
Canpa (choke cherry patties) or raisins
Kidney fat or lard
Sugar

Put dried meat in a pillowcase and pound with a hammer until very fine. Put the
pounded meat into a bowl and mix in the choke cherries or raisins and sugar.

Heat the kidney fat , suet or lard until melted. Cool until you can handle it with your hands and
not burn yourself. Pour enough fat or lard into the meat mixture to slightly moisten and
mix well. You want this mixture to stick together only a bit for ease of eating. Eating is done with a spoon or pinched into the hand.

For a complete Native American cookbook please see my website at: http://www.nativetalismanart.com

Amethyst - The Talking Stone

Amethyst sends a voice out into the universe. Whatever you’re feeling and thinking, Amethyst will translate and send. This stone is especially good for people using mantras and the Secret or Law of Attraction. Use this stone carefully, whatever you think and feel, it will send and the Universe will manifest.

Wear it in a medicine bag or in a piece of jewelry. Or use it as a meditation tool to focus your sight on. Although, I caution whatever way you use it, use it only on days and times when you are focused. It is best to use in an uncut, unpolished, raw form. The “voice” in it’s natural state is clearer and louder with more force and power.

There are sounds and/or songs that resonate with every crystal, stone, rock or mineral. To find the tonal vibrations, hold and/or look at the stone in a meditative state and wait for a tingling sensation in your stomach (2nd chakra) around your navel. When the tingling begins, without thinking, open your voice and let the sound(s) or song come out. It’s a good idea to have a voice recorder, such as tape or digital . Since you are in a meditative state sometimes it’s hard to remember the earthly stuff.

After you have the sound or song that goes with your stone use it every time you use the stone. It will awaken the stone, especially if it hasn’t been used in a long time. Also, the sounds or song will help the stone focus on you, and not on other transmissions and interferences that may be in your environment. Living in a crowded environment like a city or apartment complex can buffer your intent because of so many other intentions in close proximity. Use the song to eliminate these interferences.

How do I know that? During my early training in the ceremonial ways of the Lakota, I found a particularly rare rock. My teachers taught me how to retrieve the song that belonged to it. I have used this teaching for every stone that comes to me. The method for doing this is basically described above, waiting for the tingling in your stomach navel area and then letting the sound out.

I was also taught several ways to talk with the “rocks”. Some rocks have ears, some have mouths, some you can put to your ear and hear a buzzing sound. Sometimes it takes years to learn how to work with a particular stone. Stones have a very different sense of time. Consider that they are the first living beings on the planet. Each one is eons old. Some of you may know the Lakota word “Tunkasila”, which is generally translated as “grandfather”, but the original word means “very ancient rock”. It was an analogy for the Creator, Ancient Mystery, God, etc. There’s a lot of wisdom and power in that. So, take your time. Make sure you get something authentic and not a creation of wishful thinking. I waited seven years for one particular rock’s song. And then it came out with so many songs, I couldn’t remember them all. Each song was for a particular healing modality. My teachers say that each of those songs is in my heart and I will remember them when the time comes.