Join Conflict Kitchen for dinner and an informal discussion with Lauren Jimerson (Seneca Nation, Heron Clan) and Ronnie Reitter (Seneca Nation, Wolf Clan), both leaders in sustaining and growing Haudenosaunee culture.

This event is co-sponsored by the Food Studies Program at Chatham University.

Wrapping up our day-long series of Haudenosaunee White Corn workshops, Conflict Kitchen is hosting a discussion and dinner featuring Iroquois White Corn Soup prepared by workshop participants, as well as other items highlighting products from the Iroquois White Corn Project.

The discussion is free and open to the public. Food from our Haudenosaunee menu may be purchased before or during the Dinner Hour.

Featured guest speakers:

Lauren Jimerson (Seneca Nation, Heron Clan) grew up on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation, located south of Buffalo, NY. She is a fine artist and art therapist, and utilizes her passion for cooking and nutrition in her job as the Interim Project Manager for the Iroquois White Corn Project at Ganondagan. Lauren believes that incorporating Indigenous foods into a contemporary diet provides a link to a more traditional Haudenosaunee way of life, providing a healing journey in recovery from historical trauma. She has spent the last 18 years in Rochester, NY raising her children, Angel and Kalen, acclimating to her ancestral lands and making art.

Ronnie Reitter (Seneca Nation, Wolf Clan) is from the Cattaruagus Territory in Western New York. She specializes in Haudenosaunee regalia and cornhusk work and is an accomplished storyteller. In her journey to discover her roots, she became deeply involved with learning and teaching Haudenosaunee traditional arts.  As Park Supervisor of Ganondagan State Historic Site, she has been able to observe and learn from the many traditional artists who visit Ganondagan.

Special thanks to our collaborator:

The Iroquois White Corn Project is an “agri-cultural” organization housed at the Ganondagan State Historic Site in Victor, New York. The IWCP grows, processes and sells heirloom white corn and also promotes food sovereignty, preserves traditions and fosters healthy minds and bodies in Haudenosaunee communities.

Special thanks to our co-sponsor:

The Master of Arts in Food Studies program at Chatham University provides a holistic, interdisciplinary approach to food systems from production to consumption, while focusing on issues of sustainability, systems and equity.