Chef Crystal Wahpepah puts Indigenous foods on the map | Queens | National Geographic
National Geographics Queens celebrates powerful female leaders in the natural world, and behind every inspirational animal on screen is an equally gritty and determined woman. All the women on this Queen's Journey are true leaders: fierce, smart, resilient, and female. All hail the Queens!
“All right, all I need is celery and potatoes, NY, and then I'm ready to rumble! I'm on my ancestors' shoulders; my ancestors are cheering me on. I like to make different kinds of foods that really highlight these old ingredients that fed my family for many generations. That's honoring my grandfather, and that's also honoring my grandmother. I believe that our ancestors are calling us through these foods and calling the community and people from all over the world to eat healthy and to actually have that connection with the food that's been lost for so many years. My name is Crystal Wipp Paw from Oakland, California. I'm a Kicky tribal member, and I'm the owner of Wabby Kitchen."
"Having a restaurant is like having a child. You really want to love that child and let that child grow. We're the first women-owned Native restaurant through Northern California, and so this is something I really believe in that needs to be represented and needs to be seen all over the country and actually all over the world—how we are very much connected to our food."
"What is Native American Cuisine? It is food from this land. It is bean, corn, squash. We have a lot of strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, huckleberries. We have a lot of bison, we have a lot of deer, we have a lot of rabbits. We can actually tell a story on a plate as we make our different dishes. I always like to honor these foods that actually represented this land first."
"I have three of my daughters; they all work at Wabby's Kitchen, and I always tell them, you're not just representing me. They're representing their tribe. They're representing women of color. You're representing your generation. It's been a privilege working with family here, especially my older sister, my younger sister, and my cousins, and we're making a difference in the community."
"My mom inspires me to be a leader. She inspires me to be resilient and having the power to change the world. Having a Native American restaurant open up less than five blocks from us has been revolutionary. Crystal has been able to gather community members from all over Indian country, and they come here to this restaurant to see a representation of their food, of their people, and reminds them of home."
"She's making fry bread. This is something where we have the stew and fry bread. That's what reminds me a lot of my grandma and my family. So, Grace does a good job."
"I feel like a protector when it comes to Native foods. I feel like a protector when it comes, of course, to my children. We have to guide our children if we want these foods to move on to the next generation. I believe that where we pass things on, many queens have done that for many, many thousands of years. A show like Queens can inspire a lot of women. We are natural-born leaders; we're strong; we have a lot of perseverance. There's a reason why we all have our different paths. We all have different talents. I just so happen to have (it) with my hands and my heart, and something that my grandmother had passed along."
"It's been a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifice to be where I'm at, but also at the same time, I love to create spaces for the next generation. If I can do it, you can too."
"Crystal Wipp Paw is really a strong Native woman and has inspired me to just be a leader within my community and show other Native women what it's like to lead in your community and help bring healing. She heals our community through her food. Food can tell a story. Food can bring people together. Food can heal."