Burning Cedar: Revitalizing Indigenous Foodways & Sovereign Wellness

Nico Albert Williams, founder and Executive Chef of Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods and Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness joined EcoJustice Radio to share her journey to revitalize culture, Indigenous foods and wellness through sovereignty.

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Revitalization of Indigenous Culture, Food, Medicine, and Stories with Nico Albert Williams

In 1830 the U.S. government implemented the Indian Removal Act, which led to the infamous Trail of Tears (1837-39), the removal or forced relocation of the Cherokee Nation. Thus, roughly 15,000 Cherokees were removed from their homes in Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and other states under both U.S. military force and state militias.

Despite these acts of genocide and the resulting criminalization of cultural traditions and lifeways, the Cherokee and so many other Indigenous peoples, have suffered greatly, persevered, thrived against all odds, and actively sought to preserve their lifeways, language and traditions. Today, the revitalization of ancestral ways which includes food, medicine, and the stories around them continues with the spirit of true sovereignty, dignity and pride.

EcoJustice Radio was thrilled to have Nico Albert Williams (Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), founder and Executive Chef of Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods and Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness on the show to share her personal and collective journey to revitalize culture, Indigenous foods and wellness through sovereignty.

STORY: Ethnobotany, Cultural Fire, and Indigenous Stewardship with Payoomkawish Elder Richard Bugbee

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Nico Albert Williams, based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a chef, caterer and student of traditional and modern Indigenous cuisines. As the founder and owner of Burning Cedar Indigenous Foods, a catering & consulting company, Chef Nico devotes her time to the revitalization of Indigenous cuisine to promote healing and wellness in the Native American community. She is also the Founder/Board President of Burning Cedar Sovereign Wellness, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to address socioeconomic disparities, health crises, and cultural disconnection affecting Indigenous communities by re-establishing ancestral foodways, birthing practices, and traditional medicine, while educating future generations of Indigenous cooks. Chef Nico’s work has been featured by Cherokee Nation’s OsiyoTV, Smithsonian National Museum, PBS, Gilcrease Museum, Philbrook Museum, BBC, and Food Network, among others.

Carry Kim, Co-Host of EcoJustice Radio. An advocate for ecosystem restoration, indigenous lifeways, and a new humanity born of connection and compassion, she is a long-time volunteer for SoCal350, member of Ecosystem Restoration Camps, and a co-founder of the Soil Sponge Collective, a grassroots community organization dedicated to big and small scale regeneration of Mother Earth.

Podcast Website: http://ecojusticeradio.org/
Podcast Blog: https://www.wilderutopia.com/category/ecojustice-radio/
Support the Podcast: https://www.patreon.com/ecojusticeradio

Executive Producer: Jack Eidt
Hosted by Carry Kim
Intro By: Jessica Aldridge
Engineer and Original Music: Blake Quake Beats
Episode 158

Photo credit: Burning Cedar Facebook Page

Originally Posted 19 December 2022, Updated 14 January 2023