Many have heard some version of the origin story of the modern-day Katahdin 100. My favorite part growing up was the story of how they fueled the run with Mountain Dew and bologna slices. Can you even imagine running on that stuff? 🤢 Through health crises, learning, and listening to our bodies, we’ve now evolved to fuel ourselves with the best nutrition we have access to.
This year, just a few days before the run started, Kessi delivered an array of goodies, including αpəteləməwíminal (wild rice) from Red Lake. Some of you might have received this αpəteləməwíminal at the Wabanaki Spring Social this past spring. When I was discussing the food plan with my crew, I mentioned the goodies Kessi dropped off, and my cook was inspired by the αpəteləməwíminal. We decided to make αpəteləməwíminal our breakfast during the run.
As I rummaged through my pantry, I found more treats to pair with our rice: canned sàhtal (blueberries), blueberry jam, applesauce, and canned ččìkəne (apples). The sàhtal in both the canned sàhtal and the jam were ones we raked during the Niweskok sàhtal harvest this summer, making them even more special. The ččìkəne came from a local orchard, adding another layer of local flavor to our meals. We also included unpasteurized milk from Parkman, Maine, and honey infused with elderberries and lemon peels from Norridgewock, Maine. Starting our days with this incredible meal gave us the endurance we needed to run all the way to the mountain. While the milk, honey, and apples may not be Indigenous-produced, supporting our local economy still felt meaningful.
Besides what’s already mentioned, we brought other food we didn’t end up eating but is still worth mentioning: cornmeal grown by Kessi along the Sandy River and mósiye (moose meat) hunted and butchered by my family.
It’s so easy to buy packaged food and snacks—we still do. It’s convenient, it’s easy, and it’s fast. But we also know that the world is dying from the overconsumption of plastic. There’s something deeply satisfying about eating rice harvested by our relatives with blueberries that I raked and canned myself.
-Sikwani Dana
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