During this episode, we’ll hear the story of an Indigenous food expert and the many layers of their most recent project and spend time with NFL Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey.
Citizen Potawatomi tribal member brings food sovereignty before global food giant
Have you ever had a TikTok video unexpectedly go viral? For one CPN Tribal member Jody Mattena, it helped her patch together several lifelong goals and gave her the ability to share her Nishnabe ways of life with others. She works with the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi Food Sovereignty Department as a Lifeways Consultant. Most recently, her work practicing and educating about Indigenous foodways brought her to the headquarters of one of the largest and most recognizable global food companies — Kellogg’s. They reached out to NHBP for a Native American History Month culinary presentation and discussion as part of an on-going series of monthly cultural education programs for Kellogg’s employees.
“It was so fulfilling to present to Kellogg’s and not only prepare two of my favorite dishes but also to have them so interested in new flavors and types of foods,” she said. “As an Indigenous chef who never went to culinary school, this was a heartwarming experience.”
You can follow Jody Mattena on TikTok @bosslady_anish. You can also find her blog at cpn.news/bossladyblog where she puts updates about her upcoming projects, including a cookbook set to be released sometime in the first half of 2023.
Q&A with Kansas City Chiefs center Creed Humphrey
Creed Humphrey is a CPN tribal member and center for the NFL’s Kansas City Chiefs. At only 23 years old, he is currently in his second season playing professional football after gaining notoriety at both Shawnee High School here near CPN headquarters and at the University of Oklahoma in Norman.
“It’s definitely awesome just seeing kids and being able to be someone that they can look up to. I really enjoy that. And I make sure to make that a big part of my job as well, making sure I’m representing myself well and making sure I’m just being a good person to look up to for the younger generation,” he said.
You can keep up with Creed Humphrey on Twitter @creed_humphrey. Follow the Kansas City Chiefs @chiefs.
Learning Language
It’s time for Learning Language, when the CPN Language Department joins us to teach vocabulary, songs, stories and more. In this segment, department director Justin Neely teaches us a classic Christmas carol in Bodewadmimwen.
For more information and opportunities with language, including self-paced classes, visit cpn.news/language. You can find an online dictionary at potawatomidictonary.com as well as videos on YouTube. There are also Potawatomi courses on the language-learning app Memrise.
Hownikan Podcast is produced and distributed by Citizen Potawatomi Nation’s Public Information Department. Subscribe to Hownikan Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, SoundCloud and wherever you find your favorite shows. Find digital editions of the Tribal newspaper here.