Shape Your Future and First Americans Museum celebrate healthy living in early cultures
OKLAHOMA CITY (October 6, 2023) — As Oklahomans recognize first inhabitants during Indigenous Peoples Day, a new partnership between the First Americans Museum (FAM) and Shape Your Future, a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) is highlighting the healthy foods and cooking of traditional Native American agriculture.
Under the direction and care of the museum’s award-winning chef Loretta Barrett Oden (Citizen Potawatomi Nation), FAM and Shape Your Future partnered to offer a community garden showcasing edible indigenous plants. The garden, which officially opens on Indigenous Peoples Day on October 9, invites museum goers to explore and discover how easy it can be to grow native plants and incorporate them into healthy and delicious meals. The exhibit teaches visitors the easy ways they can blend traditional indigenous food practices with modern-day healthy living.
“We are honored to partner with the First Americans Museum to showcase the healthy examples set by the 39 tribes in the state that today’s Oklahomans can easily incorporate into their lives,” said Julie Bisbee, TSET executive director.
A pathway to the garden displays warm colors inspired by traditional indigenous plants, alongside educational elements that teach visitors about native foods and gardening practices.
The plants in the garden are easy to grow in a home garden. Museum visitors can learn how to incorporate the healthy foods into their diet by growing or purchasing them and creating healthy, delicious recipes. Recipe cards and gardening tips are available in the garden and at the garden entrance.
“My career has been dedicated to researching and revitalizing First American foodways,” says chef Barrett Oden. “I’m thrilled to share indigenous knowledge with our community through new recipes and a living exhibition of flowers, herbs and vegetables!”
Shape Your Future and the First Americans Museum invite Oklahomans to celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day by visiting the museum and discovering the many inspiring practices set in place by the tribal nations in Oklahoma.
Photo cutline: An array of edible indigenous plants that are easy to grow in a home garden.
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FAM’s mission is to educate the broader public about the unique cultures, diversity, history and contributions of the 39 Tribal Nations in Oklahoma today. The 175,000-square-foot facility showcases state-of-the-art exhibitions in history, culture and art; live public and education programs; a full-service restaurant presenting unique Native-inspired cuisine; and a museum shop featuring one-of-a-kind hand-made items created by Oklahoma’s premier Native American artists.
Shape Your Future (SYF) is a community health education intervention that encourages Oklahomans to eat better, move more and be tobacco free. SYF strives to educate parents, teachers, caregivers and all Oklahomans on how to make the healthy choice the easy choice. Find more information online at ShapeYourFutureOK.com.
The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. To learn more, go to Oklahoma.gov/TSET.