How is Acorn Mush made?

To cook acorn mush, acorns are first collected by using a pole to strike a tree and retrieve falling acorns or collecting acorns fallen to the ground. Upon collection, the acorns are then cracked open or winnowed.

However, acorns can not be eaten right away. Acorns contain tannic acid, a substance poisonous to humans, that needs to be removed before consumption.

With a stone mortar and pestle, the inner part of the acorn is broken-down and smashed until a powdery substance is reached. Next, the acorn flour-like substance is leached to remove poisonous tannic acid and to remove the bitterness of the acorns. Finally, using a water-proof basket, the substance is cooked atop of heated rocks and the acorn mush is ready to be served. At times, additional toppings such as bay leaves or mint leaves may be added for extra texture and flavoring. 

Is Acorn Mush eaten today?

Today, California Native Americans continue to eat acorn mush both using the traditional technique as described above and with new practices using different tools. 

On a broader scale, acorns continue to be used in a variety of recipes as they contain large amounts of protein and are often used in acorn flour or acorn meal.

Can you find the following?

Textual Exhibit References Courtesy of the UC Berkeley Library & HA192CU

• “Wiiwish.” Plant Details: Wiiwish, https://ethnobotany.csusm.edu/search_details.php?plant_id=298. 
• People, The. “North American Indian Recipes – Acorn Recipes & Facts!” The Peoples Paths, 23 Nov. 2021, http://www.thepeoplespaths.net/NAIFood/acorns.htm. 
• Hoffman, Geralyn Marie, and Lynn H. Gamble. A Teacher’s Guide to Historical and Contemporary Kumeyaay Culture: A Supplemental Resource for Third and Fourth Grade Teachers. Institute for Regional Studies of the Californias, San Diego State University, 2006.
• Amazing Acorns: The Chumash Staple Food – Sbbg.org. https://www.sbbg.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Amazing%20Acorns.pdf.

Deeper Dive Into Food Sovereignty

The focus of this exhibit is understanding the importance of indigenous foods, but to do so, we must understand the different definitions around accessing food as a human right. 

When it comes to accessing food, the term “food security” is often researched and quantified to further learn about health outcomes in a specific population. The USDA defines being food secure as in a state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. However, as the definition of food security ignores quality of food as an important indicator, it does not truly encompass the complexity of food in many cultures. Due to this, a new term “Food Sovereignty” emerged, having different social implications and goals compared to food security. Refined during the 2007 Forum for Food Sovereignty in Mali, Food Sovereignty was defined as: 

“the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods… right to define their own food and agriculture systems.” (1)

Since the definition of food sovereignty still did not acknowledge the intricate relationships many Indigenous communities have with food, a secondary term came to be: Indigenous Food Sovereignty. Indigenous Food Sovereignty as a framework recognizes the social, cultural, and economic relationships in Indigenous communities, which includes “community food sharing, communal culture, decolonization, and self-determination.” Taking it one step further, Indigenous Food Sovereignty includes other methods of collecting food, with the “inclusion of fishing, hunting, and gathering as key elements of a food sovereignty approach”. The Working Group on Indigenous Food Working Group defines four specific principles of Indigenous Food Sovereignty: 

“1. the recognition that the right to food is sacred, and food sovereignty is achieved by upholding sacred responsibilities to nurture relationships with the land, plants, and animals that provide food;

2. day-to-day participation in Indigenous food related action at all of the levels of individual, family, community, and region is fundamental to maintaining Indigenous food sovereignty;

3. self-determination, or the ability of communities and families to respond to their needs for culturally relevant foods and to have the freedom to make\decisions over the amount and quality of food they hunt, fish, gather, grow, and eat; and

4. legislation and policy support to reconcile Indigenous food and cultural values with colonialist laws, policies, and mainstream economic activities.” (1)

As stated in “Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States,” Indigenous Food Sovereignty can be summarized as “the re-connection to land-based food and political systems,” while seeking to uphold ‘sacred responsibilities to nurture relationships with our land, culture, spirituality, and future generations.’” (1)

However, as we use this framework in the rest of the exhibit, it is also key to factor how “Indigenous Food Sovereignty” as a definition comes with its own challenges and problems. It is important to state how “Indigenous Food Sovereignty” looks different depending on tribal associations with the term. Each tribal nation is unique to one another, and they cannot be spoken for as one homogenous group. Even more, the term “Sovereignty” might have further issues with being used as a central focus in Indigenous tribal discourse. As Elizabeth Hoover debates in “Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States,” the use of Sovereignty in different contexts conflicts with one another as it is both a European originated term rooted in Western power while also being a popular stance on self-determination and recognition of rights. (1) For simplicity and ease for further teachings, this exhibit does use this umbrella term of Indigenous Food Sovereignty to describe and advocate for better access to native foods. We do understand and come with the background that this term is not advocated by all Indigenous scholars and thinkers. 

Historical Impact and Food Shortage in the Klamath Basin 

The Klamath Basin is situated between Oregon and Northern California, encompassing the region drained by the Klamath River. This area includes the expansive ancestral territories of the Karuk, Yurok, Hoopa, and Ohlone tribes. Traditionally to access native foods, many of these tribes fished in the Klamath River and accessed natural resources of the forest through ritual and cyclical fires. By pruning and reseeding, tribes in this area were able to access cultural foods at all times. Important foods included salmon from the Klamath River, local deer in the forests, and gathered acorns. However, because these traditional methods were later criminalized through government intervention and policy changes, it drastically reduced the availability of Native foods.  

Stated by Jennifer Sowerwine in “Reframing food security by and for Native American communities”, “Under settler colonialism, dramatic changes in the management of the lands and waterways related to mining, hydroelectric dams, agriculture, logging, and fire suppression have resulted in the near loss of Native fisheries.” (3) Furthermore, under the Dawes Act of 1887, the Yurok Tribe specifically was confined to ten percent of the land that was originally theirs. Trauma by government sanctioned genocide and cultural assimilation policies, specifically through Native American boarding schools, created breaks in the intergenerational processes of knowledge, with many traditional languages, cultural practices, and knowledge on access to cultural foods lost to many Indigenous communities. Furthermore, for the households that continue their hunting/fishing/gathering traditions, some have been labeled as criminals and poachers because of government policy including but not limited to costly permits, certain time frames for hunting/fishing, and how much quantity is allowed to be taken from the land. One Yurok tribe member that was interviewed in the “Reframing food security by and for Native American communities” shares his frustration. 

Currently, many Indigenous communities in the Klamath Basin are food insecure. In “Reframing food security by and for Native American communities”, a standardized eighteen-page survey concluded that over 92% of households experienced some level of food insecurity. (3) Over 70% of households rarely or never have access to desired Native foods. Even more, the Klamath Basin is situated in a food desert, with the closest grocery stores for nutritious foods being over twenty-five miles away. (2)

Importance of Native Foods 

Why is access to native foods so important? 

Indigenous populations have the highest rates for diet-associated diseases, including diabetes, obesity and depression. While it has been not only shown through research that native foods are not only more nutritious than what is offered in a conventional diet, households in the Klamath Basin with high food security had the best access to Native foods. Even more, native foods and their processes have major cultural and historical significance that cannot be achieved at the moment. As said by a Karuk tribal member in an interview from “Reframing food security by and for Native American communities”, accessing foods allows for a closer connection to the land and the people that cannot be achieved from buying foods in a global capitalist environment.

Overall, better access to native foods allows for the restoring of not only physical health, but overall better mental well-being among Indigenous American communities, while also being a key factor in achieving tribal sovereignty. This can be achieved through changes in policy such as dam removal, community-based programs, and changing how we understand food security and sovereignty as both Non-Indigenous and Indigenous populations.

Most importantly, we wanted to highlight the many different Indigenous initiatives towards gaining food sovereignty. Featured below are also a few organizations local to Northern California. 

Textual Exhibit References Courtesy of the UC Berkeley Library & HA192CU

1. Mihesuah, D.; and Hoover, E. “Introduction,” and Various authors, “Voices from the Indigenous Food Movement,” 26-56 and Gerald Clarke, “Bringing the Past to the Present: Traditional Indigenous Farming in Southern California,” Indigenous Food Sovereignty in the United States: Restoring Cultural Knowledge, Protecting Environments, and Regaining Health, Devon Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover, ed. (2019), 1-56.
2. Sowerwine, J., Sarna-Wojcicki D., Mucioki M., Hillman, L., Lake, F.K., and E. Friedman. (2019) Enhancing Indigenous food sovereignty: A five-year collaborative tribal-university research and extension project in California and Oregon. Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development, https://reeis.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/0230374-enhancing-tribal-health-and-food-security-in-the-klamath-basin-of-oregon-and-california-by-building-a-sustainable-regional-food-system.html
3. Sowerwine, J., Mucioki, M., Sarna-Wojcicki, D. et al. Reframing food security by and for Native American communities: a case study among tribes in the Klamath River basin of Oregon and California. Food Sec. 11, 579–607 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12571-019-00925-y
4. Sheriff, L; “’No Fish Means No Food’: How Yurok Women Are Fighting for Their Tribe’s Nutritional Health.” The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, October 20, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/oct/04/salmon-klamath-river-yurok-women-nutrition-health.

Teaching Cultures Other than Your Own

Non-Indigenous educators, or even Indigenous educators with differing cultural experiences, may feel ill-equipped when discussing the customs and experiences of Indigenous peoples at home, in the classroom, or within a museum space. Additionally, educators may feel that it is not their place to speak on the behalf of Indigenous communities; unfortunately, said ambivalence–while well-intended–prevents critical conversations from entering the educational setting. So how do we move past our anxieties and onto reform?

Within their article “Rights of Indigenous Children: Reading Children’s Literature through an Indigenous Knowledges Lens” authors Shelley Stagg Peterson and Red Bear Robinson acknowledge the educators’ internal anxiety when reading Indigenous children’s literature:

[I]indigenous Knowledge Keepers cannot be present every time a non-Indigenous teacher reads an Indigenous picture book with children. [Consequently,] we suggest that teachers create funds of knowledge about Indigenous experiences and perspectives to inform their readings of Indigenous children’s literature. This knowledge can be created through consulting with Indigenous community members; websites created by Indigenous peoples about teachings and personal stories; and literature written, illustrated, and published by Indigenous creative people in their countries. (4)

In teaching Native cultures it’s essential that non-Indigenous educators acknowledge their inability to fully understand the experience of Indigenous peoples. Nevertheless, it is still the responsibility of educators to inform themselves about Indigenous perspectives, with special attention to the traditions and histories of the communities they are highlighting. As Peterson and Robinson suggest, educators should listen to Indigenous voices, whether that be through direct interview or Indigenous writings, and enrich their teachings through the lens of said perspectives.

Educators Lisa Korteweg, Ismel Gonzalez, and Jojo Guillet call this change in perspectives “shape-shifting,” in allusion to the trickster figure coyote’s advantageous shape-shifting ability; “We use this term to refer to environmental educators shifting their understandings towards an Aboriginal epistemology” (332). In an effort to decolonize early learning, we ask that educators “shape-shift” when teaching at home, in the classroom, or in a museum space. 

Teaching at Home

One of the easiest ways to discuss Indigenous food sovereignty with young children is by reading children’s books about traditional food practices and the relationships they foster; but, when looking for books, consider who authored, illistratuted, and published the work.

Especially for children at the early learning stage, picture books foster an immersive experience that is both memorable and meaningful. While illusively simple, picture books are the perfect vessel for introducing both indigenous perspectives and an appreciation for the environment, as they combine lyrical prose and captivating images.

Korteweg, Gonzalez, and Guillet further highlight the potential for environmental appreciation within their article, “The stories are the people and the land: three educators respond to environmental teachings in Indigenous children’s literature.” As adults who have gone through a colonial education system themselves, the authors argue that “[I]ndigenous children’s literature may offer not only polyphonic forms of narrative codes and visual devices, but also through their arts-based representations, push at educators’ conventional understandings of the environment or land” (332). Consequently, reading picture books with young children can be equally informative for the educator, as they are introduced to new understandings of the Indigenous experience. 

When reading these works to children at home, educators can lean into a child’s interest. After reading A Day with Yayah (2017), a child may voice interest in gathering. A parent or guardian may nurture this desire by gathering plants in their own neighborhood. Parents may also look at local programs that teach children how to identify native plants local to their area. [For Bay Area families, we highly recommend the UC Botanical Gardens’ series of Education Programs offered both in the summer and school year]. As a child reads Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story (2019), they may want to cook some! Parents and guardians can reference Indigenous cookbooks for native recipes and discuss the histories of specific foods. In the case of fry bread, an educator may explain how Indigenous peoples created the food on reservations.

Teaching in the Classroom

Classroom educators may also want to use Indigenous children’s literature within the classroom space, whether as part of class “storytime” or for individual students’ practice in reading comprehension. However, classroom educators can additionally bring these narratives to life through crafts, play, and discovery activities. 

In her work Engaging Young Children in Museums, Sharon E. Shaffer explains that:

 [C]hildren are active learners, constantly exploring and engaging with their environment. Techniques that actively engage children, such as touching objects, role playing, puzzles, block building, and sharing ideas, are a reflection of the natural inclination and behaviors of this audience. (48)

Within the classroom setting, teachers may choose to bolster their classroom readings with an engaging activity. Below we have curated a collection of activities that classroom educators are welcome to download. In addition, we recommend that teachers explore local Indigenous websites for more activities and presentations. [For those located in the Bay Area we highly recommend visiting the California Indian Museum & Cultural Center’s website, where teachers can find curriculum suitable for all age groups. One particularly amazing resource is the Native STEM Maker Program, which exhibits how STEM principles integrate themselves in traditional ways of life].

Teaching through Museums

The traditional museum space, in many ways, is entirely antithetical to young children’s active learning strategies. Patrons are asked to silently observe museum objects from a distance, ensuring not to touch anything. So how do we make museums more accessible to younger audiences? Perhaps the most common model is that of an interactive children’s museum that creates play spaces where children can make their own discoveries and develop social skills. Unfortunately, many children’s museums steer away from cultural discussions, as curators, again, feel ill-equipped when conveying minority histories to children. 

Nevertheless, a few children’s institutions have taken on this challenge most commonly through heritage days and performances, but also through physical exhibits. In 2010, the Boston Children’s Museum in Massachusetts began working on Native Voices: New England Tribal Families, which has now been touring around the United States since the summer of 2017. In collaboration with local Boston tribes, museum curators create an immersive museum experience that allows children to learn about local Indigenous groups and their traditions through play and hand-on activities. 

Curators may additionally narrativize museum artifacts as a method of “object-based learning,” where they can challenge younger audiences to consider “the power of objects.” (Shaffer 110). As Shaffer explains:

Most museum educators and interpreters are well aware of the adage every object tells a story, and yet there are many who have not given serious thought to the concept…[through the] in-depth exploration of object, it becomes evident that objects represent more than what is obvious at first glance, but rather are powerful in what is hidden and often revealed by careful exploration. (111)

In turn, museums may provide prompting questions like: “What does the artifact look like?”; “Where do you think the object came from?”; and “Who made the object?” to encourage critical thinking. 

But taking all of these models and methods into consideration, perhaps the most important thing we can do as museum educators is rethink the museum as an institution. In his 2011 catalogue Peter Morin’s Museum: An Installation with Performances, Peter Morin includes a twenty-seven line manifesto that first tells its audience “I invite you to participate in this museum” (18). [We encourage readers to watch the following student-lead interview with Peter Morin from Spring 2021]. Perhaps as institutions we should move towards interactive methods of learning intended for young children and even adults? A model that encourages patrons to touch objects and fill the room with laughter.

Textual Exhibit References Courtesy of the UC Berkeley Library & HA192CU

• Cooper, Nancy. “Considering Our Relatives: INDIGENOUS CHILDREN’S LITERATURE AND ENVIRONMENTALISM.” Canadian Children’s Book News, vol. 44, no. 1, Canadian Children’s Book Centre, 2021, p. 14–.
• Cooper, Nancy. “The Importance of Grandparents in Indigenous Children’s Literature.” Canadian Children’s Book News, vol. 44, no. 2, Canadian Children’s Book Centre, 2021, pp. 18–21.
• Korteweg, Lisa, et al. “The Stories Are the People and the Land: Three Educators Respond to Environmental Teachings in Indigenous Children’s Literature.” Environmental Education Research, vol. 16, no. 3-4, Routledge, 2010, pp. 331–50, https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620903549755.
• Morin, Peter, Duffek, Karen. “Peter Morin’s Museum: An Installation with Performances,” Soft Power. University of British Columbia, Museum of Anthropology, 2011.
• Peterson, Shelley Stagg, and Red Bear Robinson. “Rights of Indigenous Children: Reading Children’s Literature through an Indigenous Knowledges Lens.” Education Sciences, vol. 10, no. 10, MDPI AG, 2020, pp. 1–14, https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci10100281.
• Shaffer, Sharon E. Engaging Young Children in Museums . Left Coast Press, Inc., 2015.
• York, Sherry. Children’s and Young Adult Literature by Native Americans : a Guide for Librarians, Teachers, Parents, and Students . Linworth Pub., 2003.

Meet The Curators

Ashley is a third year Electrical Engineering & Computer Science major and Art History minor at UC Berkeley. This upcoming summer, Ashley will be working at Disney animation as a software developer. As an avid video game enthusiast in her younger years, Ashley wanted to focus on engaging some form of interactive technology component for youth to engage with in this exhibit.

Neha is a fourth year Art History Major at UC Berkeley with a focus on decolonization and repatriation in the Asian hemisphere. After graduation, Neha hopes to pursue a JD with a focus in art property and acquisition. Because of her interest in the intersection of art, public health, and law, Neha’s main interest in the exhibit was on the historical policies that shaped current social climates.

Amanda is a fourth year English major and Medieval Studies minor at UC Berkeley. After graduating in Spring 2022, she hopes to pursue a PhD in English with a focus on the Middle Ages. In the Summer of 2021, Amanda had the privilege of working at the Bay Area Discovery Museum. Since working at BADM, Amanda has taken a keen interest in making museum spaces accessible to young children.

Our classwork centered on unpacking the ways in which the museum has been a participant in global colonialism and exploring more recent, alternative models. We learned moving forward requires intention, energy, and dedication to reshaping institutions, maybe decolonizing or reindiginizing them. Mindful of how objects taken under duress continue to inflict harm in the present, we reimagined a museum that curates, exhibits, and collects with care. Crucially, we see a better and more mindful museum working with the descendants of marginalized communities, moving forward by returning objects, ancestors, and knowledge, so that communities can tell their own stories on their own terms of the past, present and future. 

     While this exhibit focuses on care and resistance, it is crucial to acknowledge the underlying paradox of examining a museum archive to find objects of resistance. Each photograph, basket, or other artifact within the catalogue continues to inflict colonial harm. Many object labels, for instance, arbitrarily group different native communities into the monolithic “Philippines” category or include blatantly racist descriptions. Moreover, photography as an inherently voyeuristic medium for ethnography underscores the power dynamics present, where the subjects are studied but almost never identified beyond “white” or “native.” The museum’s role as a colonial institution therefore continues to perpetuate anti-indigenous sentiments, intergenerational trauma, and the loss of identities.

     If we are to criticize the system that allowed a school teacher to conduct anthropological and ethnographic studies on indigenous people, we must ask the question: How do we reconstruct relationships between objects and collector? One solution is by focusing on care through mutual aid and community – solidarity, not charity. This exhibit does not attempt to define “care,” but proposes different pathways to achieve this goal.  We must consider who is being cared for, and who is caring. What do they care for? 

     Whether or not it is possible to fully decolonize museums remains in question, but this exhibit hopes to address the curators’ obligation to “care” by illuminating suppressed stories.

Further Readings

• Punzalan, R. “Archives of the new possession: Spanish colonial records and the American creation of a ‘national’ archives for the Philippines”
• Lasco, G. “‘Little Brown Brothers’: Height and the Philippine-American Colonial Encounter”
• Barton, R. “The half-way sun”
• Barton, R. “Ifugao law”
• Santiago, F. “Manners of Resistance: Symbolic Defiance of Colonial Authority in Nineteenth Century Philippines”
• Acabado, S. “The Archeology of Pericolonialism: Responses of the ‘Unconquered’ to Spanish Conquest and Colonialism in Ifugao, Philippines”
• (Film) “Aguinaldo’s navy”
• (Film) Tarog, J. “Heneral Luna”
• (Film) Tarog, J. “Goyo”
• Episode 134 – Philippine Archaeology and the Ifugao Rice Terraces with Stephen Acabado https://thisfilipinoamericanlife.com/2021/01/14/episode-134-philippine-archaeology-and-the-ifugao-rice-terraces-with-stephen-acabado-social-distance-series/