3 ms·
Much of what you'd recognize as Mexican food or Central American food has roots in Native American food of those that spoke Nahuatl and its dialects (Southweste
by oso2k 9y ago
Much of what you'd recognize as Mexican food or Central American food has roots in Native American food of those that spoke Nahuatl and its dialects (Southwestern tribes and further south). Many versions of corn, many non-sweet versions of potatoes, and many peppers are native to the Americas and have obviously been integrated into other cultures and cuisines. As for reasons why such food is not represented as Native American . . . Imperialism? Appropriation? Assimilation?
If you're truly interested Native American food, don't Yelp it. You'll probably have to speak to several people at a Reservation, Tribal Council, Cultural Group or perhaps a museum curator.
- shanev 9y agoWasn’t bison a huge part of Native American food though? I haven’t seen it represented at any Mexican or Central American restaurant I’ve been to.
- stevenwoo 9y agoWasn't that just the Plains Indians? Bison might be overrepresented in popular culture because Hollywood emphasizes the years we spent subjugating the Plains Indians.
- protomyth 9y agoYes, it was only the plains Indians, and Hollywood lumped them all into generic Native America.
- oso2k 9y agoProteins were used much more sparingly than they are today. And if it was used, I suspect it to be more likely to be the local variants of pork, poultry, antelope, deer, fish, lizards and snakes, small rodents like squirrels. IMO, uses for pork are more indigenously varied and seem to be less European influenced (Mediterranean specifically, as you would expect from the Spanish), such as (Mexican) Carnitas, Al Pastor, Pozole, Chicharrones, Tamales, Chile Verde, Chile Rojo, Barbacoa. Bison (at least for North American peoples) as a meal takes lots of preparation and butcher work so I suspect it would not be as easy of meal to prepare.