Renowned Chef Champions Indigenous Food Sovereignty with New Memoir
In a world where food trends come and go, a deeper movement is taking root within Indigenous communities, focusing on reclaiming healthier and sustainable food practices. At the forefront of this initiative is Nephi Craig, an esteemed chef from Arizona, whose new memoir is garnering attention and shedding light on this significant cause.
Nephi Craig leads Café Gozhóó, a unique dining establishment located on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Whiteriver, Arizona. Since its inception in 2021, the café has been a beacon of Western Apache culinary traditions.
Craig’s latest work, “Our Knives Will Save Us: Dispatches from a White Mountain Apache Chef,” published by Penguin Random House, diverges from the expected cookbook format. Instead, it serves as a narrative tool aimed at empowering others. “A cookbook seemed like the obvious route early on, and I decided not to. I’ve been approached three or four times,” Craig explains. “I’m 46 years old and 15 years into my sobriety, and I wanted to write a story that is a tool for others.”
The café, housed in a former gas station, is more than just a restaurant; it is a place of healing and growth. Craig employs fellow Apaches who are in recovery, providing them with valuable vocational training through the Rainbow Treatment Center’s program. “Sobriety is such an important topic in Native America that gets relegated to the shadows sometimes,” Craig remarks. “But we have all the tools that we need to heal — and we don’t necessarily need a Western stamp of validation.”
Emphasizing the significance of integrating health and healing into daily life, Craig asserts, “This is our legacy. Bringing back ceremonies, planting songs, cooking recipes, hunting, language — all of that great stuff. That way, it doesn’t matter if you’re in New York or on the rez.”
