Logic

In order to keep the culture we must look beyond the arrival of the white man to the ways of our ancestors before us to keep our race strong and healthy. Soul foods should be enjoyed in moderation and over indulgence is never good. This is a part of the culture that is to be passed down to the younger generations and kept going in time as to preserve the heritage as with language, as language can die out, the foods we loved as a child can be brought back and enjoyed as an adult and the recipes can be memorized or written down. Healthful alternatives from the past can also be brought back and utilized in place of modernized foods today, we do not need to eat the things that are bad for you anymore because it is not out of survival, and other healthy alternatives are available now days.

Ethics

 With this new food source came a rise in diabetes, high blood-pressure, obesity, and consequently, heart disease. Before the arrival of white people from Europe, Native Americans hunted and trapped animals for meats, hides, and bones, that gave them essential proteins. Hunting for their food and a constant nomadic lifestyle helped them to stay better in shape. After white people came and the introduction of modern food was established the foods available to the Indians were not so great for your health. Fried dough is not good for you but it tastes good and it will let you survive through hard times, with this drastic change of diet it was inevitable to see the reoccurring health problems that once plagued these people developing.  Even though these foods are bad for one’s health, they are still eaten today because they have become part of the heritage of the people. Due to the health issues associated with these foods they should not be consumed regularly but should remain a part of the heritage of the people.

Foods

My name is Caleb Takes Horse a member of the Crow and Kenaitze tribes. For me, native “soul food” can be any recipe that is passed down from generation to generation, usually consisting of the most meager ingredients and made to feed vast quantities of people for little money. For years, Native Americans lived off the land until the introduction of modern foods by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of the United States government. These include but are not limited to; dry macaroni products, flour, yeast, sugar, salt and commodity cheese. Attempts to integrate the Indians into white society gave them large bags of flour, baking powder or yeast, salt, sugar, and lard which were all usually past their prime. With these, bread was created but with no ovens to bake it in, the bread was fried and a new food source was introduced.

History

For hundreds of years, African Americans and Native Americans used every part of the animal they could to survive. African Americans were given pork scraps and Native Americans were given all the ingredients for bread but no ovens. These people dealt with the foods they had to survive, the food that got these people through tough times was not exactly healthy and is not practical to eat anymore, yet they are still consumed to the detriment of the people’s health. People in the southern United States still consume pork chitterlings and pig knuckles, and Native Americans still eat fry bread because these foods have become part of the cultures of these people.