And what Alcatraz stands for in your community?

Well, what Alca- I don't know if I would say what Alcatraz stands for.

It is pretty much, it was a unoccupied, um, land, um, that was free from the federal government, and this is where college students, Native American college students, um, knew the rights, and that's where it was tooken over, but that was over in 1969.

So at the same time, my world, where it comes into the Alcatraz, um, part, is where, um, we would go, we would go after, we would go on the, um, the island, um, one, to really talk about where it came into Indigenous Peoples' Day, but at the time it was Columbus.

But at the same time, we would talk about more where it came Native American Heritage Month, and this is where the, um, treaty council would bring different speakers from all over world, from people from, um, Peru, all the way from Africa, where it comes into indigenous, where it comes into the human rights, and they would talk about what's going on in the world, um, as indigenous people.

And this is where Native Americans can really come together and really relate to that just because.

And it's being done, it's still being done till this day.

So, um, talk a little bit about, like, what you're gonna be doing there 'cause this is almost like kind of like a full circle moment.

So for the listeners meeting you for the first time, would you tell everyone about yourself and your journey to becoming a chef?

Yeah, so I guess my journey began a long time ago.

I always seen the absence of Native foods, especially growing up here, being born and raised in Oakland.

Here in the Bay Area, we have so many beautiful, different, diverse cultural foods.

And so I always seen something that was missing from that.

And I guess my journey really begins when I was a child.

And fast forward, I took it to catering to Native American organizations.

Maybe you could explain why it was such a difficult decision and what ultimately convinced you to include it.

Mm-hmm.

because I feel that it would overshadow the Native American food producers that I work with.

It would overshadow my whole mission, and that is really to highlight and showcase Native foods.

I feel like when people are coming to Wapipa's Kitchen, They're getting the real deal where it comes into pre-contact, what is going on in Native foods, especially with our producers.

But then also, I would have people come in, where's the fry bread? Do you have fry bread? And I was like, yeah, I do.

I got my grandma's fry bread.

Right.

What do those jars mean to you?