As part of the project, I produced, shot and edited video pieces, wrote articles and created a series of social media assets designed to start conversations and drive engagement around topics of diversity.
Rebecca Webster and Laura Manthe are cousins and seemingly inseparable. They share a passion for Oneida white corn: an ancient variety dating back to the tribe’s ancestral homelands in upstate New York.
“Laura’s corn soup recipe is reservation famous!” Webster says. Historically, scarcity of the crop limited the preparation of white corn soup to special occasions such as ceremonies and funerals. To make it a staple of the Oneida diet, the cousins are a part of a cooperative collecting seeds and growing corn according to traditional practices. Preparing corn soup the Oneida way is labor-intensive but sustainable, and Webster believes it holds the key to solving many health problems plaguing their community in recent decades.
To begin making the delicacy, they use hand-picked, hand-husked corn dried in ornate braids over the course of the winter. They cook it in hardwood ashes to remove the hull and allow it to expand in size. The corn releases niacin, a vitamin known for its ability to lower high cholesterol levels. The hulling process can take up to three hours. Then, the corn is mixed with dry kidney and pinto beans, along with smoked pork hocks.
By practicing traditional Oneida ways, Webster and Manthe regain intimacy with their cultural heritage. For many years, displacement and assimilation resulted in many Native children growing up speaking only English. “Even though I grew up [on the reservation] I didn’t grow up learning the language,” says Webster, whose parents forbade her from associating with other tribal members in the Oneida longhouse down the road.
Traditional preparation of Oneida corn soup benefits other Wisconsin communities, too. To access a sustainable source of hardwood ashes, Manthe and Webster developed a relationship with the Menominee Tribe, many of whom burn hard wood to heat their homes. The Menominee now trade ashes for dehydrated corn.
Rooted in traditional growing techniques, Manthe’s sight is set on innovation. “We’re getting braver. . . using corn flour to make banana bread and fritters, but we’d like to expand and make traditional recipes from other tribes,” she says. The cousins share the story of bringing their dehydrated corn to friends in Oaxaca, Mexico, who added it to their famous Posole soup. “They loved it because it’s not the corn grown in their village,” shares Manthe. “They also joined us on a trip to Ecuador and brought these gigantic tortillas and they shared with the [Quechua] people. It was a three-way trade of knowledge, ideas and seeds!”
