A Taste of Heritage: Crow Indian Recipes and Herbal Medicines

This curious, absorbing volume reads more like a textbook on ancient Crow foodways and less like a traditional cookbook or self-help guide, although it includes tasty recipes for American Indian dishes like Plum Bread and Cornmeal Flapjacks, as well as remedies for snakebite and less dramatic afflictions. The author, the granddaughter of a famed Crow medicine woman, initiates with authority those who may be unfamiliar with various dishes and techniques, patiently explaining that ""beaver tail is good tasting, chewy, and rich,"" and that the dried lungs of a buffalo make for a good jerky-style snack. She recommends cooking a moose all day, preferably in a pit in the ground and suggests that, for the most tender rabbit, only flouring and frying will do. As for the medicinal properties of different herbs, bear root helps with midwifery, and stinging nettles can be brewed into a tea that helps cure allergies. Even if one doesn't have bear root or nettles growing in the yard, this book is a valuable investigation of the variety and utility of nature, bringing ancient Crow traditions to life.