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Many Guatemalans are still celebrating the presidential victory of Bernardo Arévalo, the once-unlikely reform candidate who won a commanding 57% of the vote.
He received substantial support among Indigenous voters, who make up at least 40% of Guatemalans.
Maria Martin reports.
Traditional fireworks rang into the night in Indigenous communities throughout Guatemala to celebrate the resounding victory of Movimiento Semilla (Seed Movement)’s Arévalo.
Arévalo had surprised everyone when he came in second-place in June’s first round elections for the runoff.
He had campaigned in heavily Indigenous areas, calling for an end to centuries of racism and marginalization of the Maya and other Indigenous and ethnic groups.
Arévalo’s runoff election rival, former First Lady Sandra Torres, has a strong political machine in heavily Indigenous states like Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Quiche.
Recent polls showed Torres would win rural areas, but the vote was close with Arévalo.
Indigenous leaders and organizations have been among the most vocal sectors of Guatemalan society against corruption – the hallmark of Arévalo’s campaign.
Groups of spiritual elders sent messages via social media Sunday to voters and to Guatemala.
Sean Sherman works a temporary reincarnation of his food truck at the Owamni Falling Water Festival outside his brick and mortar restaurant. (Photo: August Schwerdfeger / Wiki CC)
Indigenous chefs are racking up prestigious awards for their cooking.
But this wasn’t always the case – and there’s still room to grow.
Now, these chefs are working to share their cuisine while highlighting their history.
KUNC’s Emma VandenEinde reports.
Chef Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota) says the absence of Native restaurants resulted from many wrongdoings by the federal government.
Bison were killed at alarming rates.
Federal boarding schools stripped Indigenous peoples of their culture and forcing them onto resource-poor reservations put them in a systemic trap.
He says they haven’t had time to heal yet, let alone evolve.
“The more you dig into it, the more inequality you see in the more racist structures that you can see that are still built into the system.”
Chef Andrea Murdoch (Indigenous Andean) wants to shed light on this through her cooking.
She’s made food for several fundraising dinners that focus on issues like missing and murdered Indigenous relatives and Indian boarding school trauma.
“Yes, I’m a chef, but I’m using that platform to bring awareness to cultural issues.”
This summer, she helped with Denver EATSS, hosted by the American Indian College Fund.
It raises tens of millions of dollars each year for Indigenous students to attend tribal colleges.
Cheryl Crazy Bull (Sicangu Lakota), the college fund’s CEO, loves hosting the event.
“Events like this for me are that opportunity for us to showcase the kinds of things that we as Native people contribute to society.”
The dinner portion featured Indigenous chefs preparing dishes with pre-colonial ingredients, like a hen of the woods mushroom soup or a three sisters hors d’oeuvre.
Ben Jacobs (Osage), the co-founder and chef of Tocabe American Indian Eatery in Denver, also cooked for the event.
With each dish, he tries to tell a story and make food for people, not for a profit.
“The point is being able to provide people food that’s meaningful and not worry about, ‘At the end of the day, I’m only here to make money,’ because we’re not. We’re here to make impact.”
Murdoch wants to do the same. By cooking at events like this, she hopes to uplift the cuisine and causes of her community while inviting others into the discovery.
“Food is a common necessity, one of the few common necessities that everybody needs, no matter what. Like, we need it for survival. So why not have a conversation about where your food came from?”
Listen to part one of Emma’s report
The Lummi Nation in Washington state says it’s saddened by the death of Tokitae.
The orca died in captivity at the Miami Seaquarium last week.
In a statement, the Lummi Nation says it stands in solidarity with Lummi members working to bring her home and will now begin talking about what’s next.
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