Loretta Barrett Oden | |
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Born | Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Nationality | Citizen Potawatomi Nation, [1] American |
Occupation(s) | Chef, Native foods historian, writer, television show host |
Known for | Indigenous food sovereignty |
Notable work | Corn Dance: Inspired First American Cuisine [1] |
Awards | New England Emmy |
Loretta Barrett Oden is a Native American chef, Native foods historian, food writer, and television show host. She is an enrolled citizen of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. [1] She wrote and hosted the PBS series Seasoned With Spirit: A Native Cook's Journey. Oden writes a column, Spirit of the Harvest, for Native Peoples Magazine .
Oden was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. [2] She is a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. [3] [4]
Oden spent three years traveling around the United States learning recipes from many different Native American tribes. [5]
In the early 1990s, when she was 50 years old, [6] Oden opened a restaurant, Corn Dance Café in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with her son Clayton. The dishes were inspired by the many tribal traditions she learned in her travels. [5]
She returned to Oklahoma in 2003. [6]
Oden is a native foods historian, food writer, and television show host. [7] She is the chef consultant of the First Americans Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. [8] She is working with AARP on an elder meals program, Native Origins. [9]
Oden wrote and hosted the PBS series Seasoned With Spirit: A Native Cook's Journey for which she won a New England Emmy. [10]
She is a founding council member of the not-for-profit organization, Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance, for the food security of Native peoples; that they can continue to produce their own food in traditional ways. [9]
Oden writes a column, Spirit of the Harvest, for Native Peoples Magazine . [2]
Oden was first married to Jerry Vandegrift, whose father started Van's Pig Stand, [6] Oklahoma’s oldest single family owned barbecue restaurant. [11]
She has two sons and two stepdaughters from her second marriage. [6]