Abstract
The community-based Tuti Tsunadelogwasdi Uninohelv” (Stories of the Snowbird Day School) is an indigenous digital history project that encompasses over 100 scanned documents, 476 digitized photos, and oral histories to document the history of the Snowbird Day School, a Bureau of Indian Affairs-operated school that existed from 1935- 1965. Snowbird (Tuti yi) is an Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) community located in Graham County on a non--contiguous piece of the EBCI. Students’ frequent recollections of the cultivation, cooking, serving and eating of food at Snowbird Day School suggest a deep level of engagement with food that created an environment where students formed strong memories about the foods they ate. While students remember the food at Snowbird Day School in an overwhelmingly positive way, it’s important to note that the Western-style foods served were one aspect of the BIA’s assimilationist curriculum. By presenting a digital timeline comprised of oral history audio excerpts, documents, correspondence and photos, this paper will examine how Snowbird Day School students’ memories of food are intertwined with both cultural assimilation and resistance.
How to Cite
Willis, A., (2019) “Made from Scratch: Navigating Assimilation and Resistance Through Food at Snowbird Day School”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 32(1).
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