Celebrate National Indigenous History Month by learning more about a tasty treat: fry bread

Fry bread is an important staple in Indigenous culture, and as part of National Indigenous History Month, you can learn how to make it yourself.

An online event hosted by the Calgary Public Library on Thursday will talk about the origins of this tasty treat as well as hear from various nokums, or grandmothers, from different cultures. 

Russ Baker from the Cree and Carrier First Nations will conduct the demonstration, which is called Frying Bread with Russ.

Baker told The Homestretch on Tuesday that for those who have never tried fry bread, it's similar to a doughnut 

He says the history of the bread was influenced by the Scottish, and was adopted after Indian agents gave rations to the First Nation people in lieu of them being able to hunt and harvest.

"There were also stories of using certain plants and roots, drying them and making them into a dough and frying them over the fire, before contact," he said.

"So I think there's a couple different ways that this dish kind of became a part of our identity."

Baker says the main ingredients are flour, water, baking powder, salt and sugar; however, some will add milk, egg and berries as well.

"You can really get creative with it," he said.

"They have like strawberry, cherry pie filling and chocolate mousse that I put in the centre. But there's lots of different variations you can go with." 

He says he has been perfecting his own recipe for 15 years.

"My main teacher was my nokum, my grandmother," he said. "She would always be making traditional foods and stuff. We grew up on a lot of wild meat and hunting.… So she, I guess, would be the first teacher."

While he doesn't usually share his recipe, he's recently started giving it out

"It took some cajoling," he said. "I've worked with a lot of youth agencies over the years, for about 24 years, on and off reserve, and a few places in Calgary have asked me for my recipe and to do a couple of presentations."

He adds that he thinks fry bread is one of those dishes that will enhance any meal. So if you want to try making it yourself, you can learn more at the online event this Thursday. It runs from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.

With files from The Homestretch.