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Social Science Native American Studies

Culinary Claims

Indigenous Restaurant Politics in Canada

by (author) L. Sasha Gora

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Jan 2025
Category
Native American Studies, Post-Confederation (1867-), Food Industry
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781487544751
    Publish Date
    Jan 2025
    List Price
    $34.95
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781487544744
    Publish Date
    Jan 2025
    List Price
    $80.00

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Description

Culinary Claims explores the complex relationships between wild plants and introduced animals, Indigenous foodways, and Canadian regulations. Blending food studies with environmental history, the book examines how cuisines reflect social and political issues related to cultural representation, restaurants, and food sovereignty.
L. Sasha Gora chronicles the rise of Indigenous restaurants and their influence on Canadian food culture, engaging with questions about how shifts in appetite reflect broader shifts in imaginations of local environments and identities. Drawing on a diverse range of sources – from recipes and menus to artworks and television shows – the book discusses both historical and contemporary representations of Indigenous foodways and how they are changing amid the relocalization of food systems.
Culinary Claims tells a new story of settler colonialism and Indigenous resistance, emphasizing the critical role that restaurants play in Canada’s cultural landscape. It investigates how food shapes our understanding of place and the politics that underpin this relationship. Ultimately, the book asks, What insights can historians gain from restaurants – and their legacies – as reflections of Indigenous and settler negotiations over cultural claims to land?

About the author

L. Sasha Gora is a cultural historian and writer with a focus on food studies, the environmental humanities, and contemporary art.

L. Sasha Gora's profile page