Native America Calling: The healing power of food and a new presidential library restaurant

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Native America Calling: The healing power of food and a new presidential library restaurant

Thursday, July 30, 2026

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The Menu: Food heals in books ‘Our Knives Will Save Us’ and ‘Raven, Rising’

Renowned chef Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache, Navajo) admits he hid his alcoholism fairly well as he was making a name for himself as a Native chef throughout the 2000s. His memoir, “Our Knives Will Save Us: Dispatches from a White Mountain Apache Chef,” details his arduous recovery and how food and the kitchen helped him figure out his purpose and path to healing.

In the debut children’s novel by Christine Hartman Derr (Cherokee), “Raven, Rising,” baking was a favorite pastime for a young Cherokee girl until she is struck with sadness and anxiety at the thought of baking and the smell of ingredients like cinnamon, bread, and chocolate. She learns to cope with loss and works to make her way back to the kitchen.

“Raven, Rising” by Christine Hartman Derr (Heartdrum 2026)

“Our Knives Will Save Us: Dispatches from a White Mountain Apache Chef” by Nephi Craig (Penguin Press 2026)

Chef Candace Stock (Ho-Chunk) is the executive chef of Salt + Scoria, a restaurant in the new Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota. Tune in to Native America Calling to talk with her about bringing Indigenous ingredients and flavors to the menu.