Native American Recipes
The following recipes are taken from the BIA Haskell Institute high school economics
cookbook which Viola E. (Patterson) Garcia Schneider used while attending Haskell from
1937-1940. Viola attended Haskell Institute after obtaining a Certificate of Indian Blood
(CIB) from the Bureau of Indians Affairs and signed by Chief Sam Blue and the South
Carolina Indian Agent, T.O. Flowers. Viola gave her BIA cookbook to her daughter
Cynthia.
Viola has been denied Catawba tribal enrollment in spite of the clear and
convincing evidence that she is a person who "belongs to the Catawba Nation" as declared
in a legal federal document known as a CIB.
We hope you enjoy these recipes. We will be adding more in the future. Please
feel free to submit your own family recipes as well. They can be sent to
webmaster@catawba-people.com.
Wild Rose Berry Tea
Onjijitka Kalyapi
Gather the rose berries after the frost, and dry them. Pour boiling water over the
berries and let stand several minutes in a covered vessel.
Wild Cherry Wojapi
Can-pa Yupapi
Boil dried cherries until tender. Put through sieve to remove
seeds. Boil this fine mixture with suet, sugar, and water. Thicken with flour.
Wild Gooseberry Wojapi
I-cag-na-ska yu-ja-pi
Wash gooseberries and boil until tender. Add sugar and flour, and cook until
tender.
Indian Corn Wojapi
Wag-mi-za Yukpan pi yu japi
Parch Indian corn. Grind. Add water and let boil until it thickens.
Sweeten with sugar.
Indian Cabbage (Plains)
The Indian cabbage has round gray leaves that are thick and hard. It looks like lambs'
quarter. Boil till tender. Serve as a vegetable or make into a soup.
Vegetable Soup
Boil dried turnips, dried pumpkins, and dried Indian squash together with a piece
of suet. Boil until all vegetables are tender.