Indigenous Food Sovereignty Summit

Thursday, October 24, 2024
10:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma's Distribution Center
1304 N. Kenosha Ave. Tulsa, OK 74106

Indigenous Food Sovereignty Summit

This free event is a collaborative effort, bringing together subject experts, food providers, and other stakeholders to share their knowledge and experience to support all levels of food security and food sovereignty in local and regional tribal communities.

Space is limited. 

Feeding America, Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, and Hunger Free Oklahoma present this event. 

About the Event

Keynote Speaker
Chef Pyet DeSpain
Pyet is an award-winning global private chef. She is the first winner of Gordon Ramsay’s new groundbreaking TV show, Next Level Chef, on Fox. In 2021, Entrepreneur Magazine named Pyet one of the top 25 best private chefs in Los Angeles. Her life’s work is dedicated to Indigenous Fusion Cuisine, where she combines the food of her heritage—both Native American and Mexican. Pyet’s passion is to uplift indigenous culture and traditions via storytelling, traveling, and cooking.
 
Pyet spent part of her childhood on the Osage Indian Reservation and the remaining years of her life in Kansas City, KS. She relocated to Los Angeles, CA  to promote wellness and nutrition through food. 

Pyet’s passion for cooking developed as a child while being the help in the kitchen. She was intrigued by the spices and aromas in her family’s taquerias and restaurants in the Kansas City area. She attended culinary school to pursue a culinary education and since has earned a certification in Wellness & Nutrition. Pyet started a personal chef business, ‘Pyet’s Plate’, in 2015 to promote a passion for wellness, nutrition, and quality of food to the public. Her focus now is to promote Indigenous ingredients in every day cooking, while doing so hopes to encourage others to pass along healthy cooking, lifestyle choices and traditions within their own families.
Indigenous Food Sovereignty Panel

Moderator:
Amy Warne, MBA, RD/LD, Manager of Nutrition and Health Programs, Partnership for a Healthier America

Panelists:
Chief Craig Harper, Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

Chef Nico Albert Williams, Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness

Travis Andrews, Founder, Native Farming Solutions

Courtney Natseway, Food Sovereign Initiative, College of the Muscogee Nation

Round Table Discussions

Jackie White, Program Director of American Indian Education, Oklahoma State Department of Education

Carol Crouch, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service

Ben Yahola, Mvskoke Elder and Instructor, College of Muscogee Nation 

Chief Craig Harper, Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma

Chef Nico Albert Williams, Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness

Travis Andrews, Founder, Native Farming Solutions. 

Mark Ford, Feeding America
Mark Ford is the Director of Native/Tribal Partnerships at Feeding America.  He is assists the initiatives of the Food Banks within Feeding America’s membership to develop or enhance relationships with Native/Tribal communities and to partner with native American led and serving grasstop organizations.
 
 Mark is originally from Alamosa, Colorado and is Chiricahua Apache with a Jicarilla Apache and Pueblo descent. Mark was a Roman Catholic priest for 16 years where he served 7 years as a pastor on the Navajo and Hopi Reservations in Arizona. He was later assigned to two churches in New Orleans, Louisiana where he co-founded a ministry for children with disabilities and their families.
 
After Hurricane Katrina, Mark was appointed by Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco to be the Assistant Director of Disability Affairs in 2006 to assist persons with disabilities in accessing resources and services after the hurricane. In 2008, he was then appointed by Governor Bobby Jindal as the Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Indian Affairs assisting the Louisiana tribes after Hurricanes Gustav and Ike in their recovery efforts.
 
Lunch Menu
  • Smoked duck w/ wojape mint sauce
  • Fried green tomato
  • Corn cake, sage, duxelles
  • Mini grilled bison skewers with squash
  • Mini fry bread with smoked trout pate 
  • Wild greens salad, toasted pecans, dried cranberries, butternut squash, apple and sage vinaigrette
  • Three bean soup
  • Smoked turkey breast/sweet potato mash/ roasted squash medley/Corn medley
  • Rice pudding, corn mousse, macerated berries, mint
  • Raspberry mint tea
  • Sumac lemonade

 

Cocktail & Networking Reception
Drinks and hors d’oeuvres

Music and dance performed by Mended Spirits (Tulsa, OK)



Schedule

10:00 a.m. Doors Open

10:30 a.m. Welcome
Jeff Marlow, CEO, Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma

10:40 a.m. Who is Feeding America? 
Mark Ford, Director of Native/Tribal Parterships, Feeding America

11:30 a.m. Lunch & Keynote Speaker
Chef Pyet Despain

1:15 p.m. Tabletop Discussions

2:45 p.m. Indigenous Food Sovereignty Panel

4:00 p.m. Cocktails & Networking Reception
Drinks and hors d’oeuvres
Music & Dance performed by Mended Spirits

Headquarters – Tulsa

  • Call: 918-585-2800
  • Fax: 918-585-2862
  • 1304 N. Kenosha Avenue,
  • Tulsa, OK 74106
  • Hours: M – F 8:00 – 4:30
McAlester location
  • Call: 918-429-7755
  • Fax: 918-585-2862
  • 2119 N. Main Street,
  • McAlester, OK 74501
  • Hours: M – F 8:00 – 4:30

Please call in advance before visiting us to make sure the appropriate person is here to help you.

Please call in advance before visiting us to make sure the appropriate person is here to help you.

© 2023 Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma