Anthropology of Food - Cherokee Ramps

Anthropology of Food ANTH 2301 Cherokee Ramps Ramps are wild leeks that grow in the Appalachian area of the United States and are comparable to wild onions. Early studies of the foodways of the Eastern Band of Cherokee describe their ubiquity. Allium tricoccum, or ramps, are consumed from the time they sprout in March to the end of April or May. The bulb can be eaten raw or broken up and added to fried eggs. others Cherokee families have canned or deep-frozen their ramps in recent years, and others even parboil the entire plant. (1975, pp. 324–325) Ramps continue to be associated with Cherokee culture even now, having been used as an additional food source by the Cherokee for many years before being taken up by European immigrants in the Appalachians. Anthropologist Max White (1975) revealed that the Cherokee people believe plants to have agency—the capacity to decide where to grow and whether to step in to assist humans. White based this belief on his ethnographic studies on the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation. As part of a long-lasting engagement with their surroundings, the Cherokee people maintain respectful interactions with the local natural flora. Ramps are treasured for their flavour and purported therapeutic efficacy for curing common colds, earaches, and circulatory diseases. They have traditionally been valued as one of the earliest edible green plants to ripen in the spring (Rivers, Oliver, and Resler 2014, 7). Courtney Lewis (2012), an anthropologist and Cherokee citizen, has researched the moral and legal ramifications of ramp collecting in the Qualla Boundary, which is U.S.-designated Cherokee territory in North Carolina. Due to the fact that the western portion of the Qualla Boundary is bordered by the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), there has long been an unofficial agreement for Cherokee individuals to gather traditional foods within the park, provided that their gathering does not pose a threat to any species. The National Park Service (NPS) and the Eastern Band of Cherokee enjoyed a generally cordial relationship until 2009. However, in response to a previous research by an NPS botanist that raised concerns about uncontrolled foraging possibly putting some plant species in risk, the NPS decided to outlaw any ramp harvesting inside the GSMNP in 2007. 2009 saw the NPS start issuing citations, and on March 22 of that year, they detained a Cherokee family who was allegedly collecting ramps inside park borders. There were several contradictions in the testimony given during the trial, miscommunications between the parties, and instances when the court favoured Western scientific knowledge over Indigenous wisdom (Lewis 2012, 110). Ramp production is cyclical, with high production years interspersed with recovery cycles, according to Cherokee scholars and elders. Indigenous harvesting methods, which focus only on the stems and leaves rather than the roots, distinguish themselves from those of non-Indigenous harvesters and promote sustainable growth. Moreover, many of the less productive ramp areas were outside of traditional Cherokee foraging zones. Since ramps are in high demand at adjacent upmarket restaurants, many of the zones where they were considered most threatened were outside of customary foraging regions, and it is possible that non-Indigenous people were harvesting them to meet demand. Many wild flora in the Great Smoky Mountains are also under threat from sources other than nearby foraging because to rising air pollution and continuous climate change. The Cherokee family was charged with trespassing on federal land at the conclusion of the trial, but the legality of its collecting is still up for discussion. Indigenous foodways and cultural identity are becoming more and more important, even yet the debates regarding ramp collecting haven't entirely gone away. Today, foraging is permitted inside the borders of around 50% of U.S. national parks, such as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Linnekin 2019), subject to a variety of laws, regulations, and unofficial agreements with the local and Indigenous inhabitants. As part of its management of the natural resources in the Qualla Boundary, the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Nation keeps an eye on ramps. They also keep negotiating for the right to forage on ancient areas that they believe have been theirs for thousands of years but are currently separated by the national park. Trails and foraging spots are Cherokee family secrets that have been handed down through the years for a large number of households. A new agreement between the GSMNP and the Eastern Band of Cherokee was signed in 2019 that permits the tribe's members to harvest sochan, a plant that resembles kale that grows inside the park (Chávez 2019). Cherokee still congregate today at approved locations inside park limits, but those who do so for purposes other than sustenance must get a gathering permission from the GSMNP. There are several examples of meals and recipes that are thought to be crucial for maintaining ancestry. To identify and protect humankind's cultural traditions, UNESCO, the UN agency responsible for education and culture, called a working group in 2006 to create a registry of appropriate preservation procedures and listings of intangible cultural treasures. The lists of endangered cultural heritage include a number of special foods and cooking traditions, like flattened sourdough bread from Malta, oshi palav (a pilaf made with vegetables, rice, and meat) from Tajikistan, and the cultivation of date palms in Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and other Middle Eastern countries. As a means of commemorating their history and transferring customs to future generations, families frequently prepare and serve unique meals and dishes on significant occasions. Is there a meal custom that your family does to honour your ancestors? Think for a moment about the various functions that food serves in your own household.