"The term ''frybread'' (what us old timers used to call ''fried bread'' back in the '40s and '50s) is yet another heretofore fashionable symbol of Indianness doomed for the bone yard of ethno-political incorrectness. The South Dakota Legislature, by enactment, has recently named frybread as an official symbol of the state: the state food, joining the state bird, state animal and state song.

It was a nice gesture of reconciliation, but state acceptance will undoubtedly doom that sumptuously decadent dish, already on the endangered list on behalf of the real Indians who proclaim obesity as a stigma of colonized Indianness. The great economic benefits to families and non-profit fund raisers of Indian Taco sales will have gone by the wayside, as will the beneficial utility of commodity lard."

Get the Story:
Charles Trimble: Figuring out who are the real NDNs (Indian Country Today 2/24)

Related Stories:
It's Official: Fry bread is South Dakota's state bread (02/09)
South Dakota bill makes fry bread the official bread (2/7)
Anti-fry bread column stirs Indian Country passions (2/7)
Harjo: Eliminate fry bread and other 'Indian' foods (01/21)