Native America Calling: A Pueblo green chile burger, Cherokee apples and more on The Menu

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Native America Calling: A Pueblo green chile burger, Cherokee apples and more on The Menu

Wednesday, September 24, 2025

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The Menu: Troubling wild rice trend, heirloom Cherokee apples and a prize-winning New Mexico burger

An unassuming café at the Pueblo of Isleta just won one of the most sought-after culinary recognitions in New Mexico. The Isleta Grill is this year’s Green Chile Cheeseburger Challenge Champion for their frybread version of a regional delicacy.

In northern Wisconsin, this year’s wild rice yields are low. The state Department of Natural Resources blames wind damage and heavy rainfall from a series of strong storms. It’s part of a pattern of diminished wild rice harvests in recent years.

Cherokee people cross-bred and cultivated apple varieties when they lived in the southeast U.S. But when the federal government forced a majority of Cherokees to move to Indian Territory (Oklahoma), they left their orchards behind. Now one cultural group is reviving those lost varieties of apples along with the history that goes with it.

These are among the topics you’ll hear about on The Menu, a special feature of Native America Calling on Indigenous food sovereignty and stories with Andi Murphy.

Guests on Native America Calling

Leticia Romero (Isleta Pueblo), owner of the Isleta Grill in New Mexico

Esiban Parent (Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe and Purépecha descent), Manoomin Wiidookaage for the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission

Amber Allen (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians), project coordinator at the Noquisi Initiative in North Carolina

Elaine Eisenbraun, executive director of the Noquisi Initiative in North Carolina