Mid-Michigan College hosted an Indigenous Peoples' Day celebration Monday in collaboration with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe in Mount Pleasant.
Indigenous Peoples' Day is a holiday to commemorate Native American history and culture. It's not a federally recognized holiday, but is acknowledge by the state of Michigan as a celebration of indigenous culture.
The event featured a keynote speaker, an indigenous food demonstration and a live drum circle.
The drum circle was preformed by the Blue House Singers, where they shared songs that honor indigenous culture.
The keynote address was preformed by Sam Anglin, an indigenous chef and traditional food educator at Saginaw Chippewa Tribal College.
"It is an honor to be here to talk about the spirit foods of our ancestors," Anglin said.
He talked about his journey through becoming an indigenous chef, which started when he was a child. He connected with his father by cooking and watching cooking shows.
Anglin attended Mid-Michigan Community College but said he dropped out to focus on training to become a chef.
He said that because of his elders fighting for Native American education, he was able to attend Grand Rapids Community College on the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver.
"There's ups and downs and lefts and rights," Anglin said. "But that's who made me who I am, and made me stronger."
He said that once he found his passion for cooking, he had the opportunity to travel across the nation with other indigenous chefs.
"To be side by side with, who I consider, the superstars," Anglin said. "But to be right next to them on a panel, to see different communities, to learn all these traditional foods from these communities, really just to travel around and be part of this movement."
He talked about the spirit foods of his ancestors; beans, corn, squash and wild rice.
Anglin discussed the three sister rule for planting crops. This is a style of planting that used beans, corns and squash to create a circle of interdependence.
When he was younger he never expected to grow up and become a traditional food educator.
"I just thought that's a way to connect with my dad," Anglin said. "If I cooked, or I'd always watch those cooking shows after that, and I felt like he was right there with me watching them."
For the Indigenous food demonstration, he served a Manoomin Berry Sweet Treat. The treat had wild rice, sunflower seeds, maple syrup, fresh blueberries and fresh strawberries.
His favorite traditional meal to make is his Three Sisters' Manoomin Salad with Maple Sage Dressing.
"It has all of our components of our spirit food of our ancestors," Anglin said about the dish. "Plus, it was something I actually thought of myself."
