Prickly pear cactus fruit | Photo: Lori Branham, some rights reserved
When you hear about Californian cuisine, you might conjure up images of Cobb salads, the French dip, Shirley Temple, and tuna tartare. All the above were invented in California, but they're a far cry from the original native Californian cuisine. Thats native as in derived from plants indigenous to California, and original as in eaten by the first occupants of this land - Californias Native peoples.
Our cultural identity has been derived by the land and whatever is growing on that landscape, Tongva tribe member and cultural educator Craig Torres says. We've lost so much throughout the generations. For many of us, it's amazing that we even held onto our cultural identity. We were too busy trying to survive.
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From at least 8,000 years ago, the Tongva tribe have inhabited the Los Angeles basin and (until they were removed) the Southern Channel Islands. Unlike many other tribes across the States, the Tongva people don't have their own reservation. So for Torres, finding places to forage native plants is rather difficult.
Craig Torres | Photo: KCET
The state parks are a lot more strict with foraging rules, he says. But I live near a local park in Santa Ana where they just have acorns growing. No one uses them so I'll pick them up and bring them home.
Unlike the trend-based cuisine of today's mainstream culture, for California's Native peoples, food was (and is) based on a relationship with the land and what grew there.
We don't see nature as natural resources. We see them as relatives. When you see something as a natural resource it just means that you are taking and taking it back, Torres says. Whenever we're taking something, for nature to survive, we have to give back. You have to have a reciprocal relationship with nature.
Unfortunately, with the exception of people like Torres who are actively studying indigenous plants and landscapes, the average Californian does not have a reciprocal relationship with nature.
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It wasn't always like that. At the time of the first Spanish settlement in 1769, California was one of the most densely populated regions in Native America, with as many as 100 distinct cultures. The tribes here were some of the most omnivorous on the continent and the food could be distinguished by various regional elements. Salmon was abundant in the northwest, pine nuts were a staple in the Great Basin, the southwest had desert and domesticated plants, and central Californians ate a diet rich in acorns and seeds.
The plants really shape who we are, Torres says. If you're living on this land and you're calling this place home, then there's a responsibility to protect it. We all have different mothers but we all share one mother earth and we share that responsibility.
While very few California Natives still rely entirely on hunting and gathering for survival, there is a contemporary movement to cultivate some of these native plants and incorporate them into everyday diet.
Here are some of these plant-based foods that people are bringing back in California:
Live oak acorns | Photo: Franco Follini, some rights reserved
Acorns (Quercus, various species)
By and far, the acorn provided the most significant source of food for the majority of Californian indigenous groups. Of the 50 species of oak that exist, about 15 come from the state of California. Mostly, the acorn was boiled in baskets by hot stones and made into a thick jelly-like mush or porridge. The closest thing to this in markets, Torres says, is the acorn jelly in Korean supermarkets. Acorn can be grounded into flour and fashioned into breads. Of course, depending on region, different types of acorns are prioritized and they are still gathered today by many tribes. Black oak is a favorite in middle elevations in the interior of the State and tanbark oak is more prominent in the humid belt.
Manzanita berries (Arctostaphylos, various species)
The berries of this evergreen shrub can be dried, and pounded into a coarse flour. The Wintu people (based in Northwestern and Central California) made this flour into a sweet soup, and steeped the seeds to make a cider. The Cahuilla of the southern deserts made a sauce out of the fresh fruits for use as a condiment. Manzanitas can be found almost everywhere in California, and peoples throughout the region used these berries for food and medicine.
Developing pinyon pine cone | Photo: Carolannie, some rights reserved
Pinyon pine (Pinus edulis)
Pine nuts were once the most important food source for the Owens Valley Paiute. Harvest was an important occasion. They would build a wagoni - a seasonal home that harvests and processes the nuts. They were generally roasted and then eaten. In northern Baja California, tribal people would gather pine nuts for days. The youth were sent up into the trees to pick pine cones and throw them down into baskets. Other uses for the pine: the sap can also be mixed with black tar to make an adhesive and the resin is especially good for puncture wounds.
Watch Tending the Wild: Decolonizing the Diet
Chia seeds (Salvia columbariae)
Chia seeds have become a mainstream superfood in recent years, and although the species that you get at your local health food store is different from our native species, the concept is by and large the same. The seeds are used as a protein boost. They don't have a lot of flavor by themselves and you can add them to almost anything, Torres says. He puts them in baked goods and smoothies.
Prickly pear (Opuntia, various species)
Prickly pear cact
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Prickly pear cactus fruit | Photo: Lori Branham, some rights reserved 
