I am preparing a menu for the Native heritage day at my College next week. The menu includes salmon. I was flipping through recipes. I did not type in a search for Native salmon recipes, simply salmon recipes. But this came up. I was mildly annoyed at the name and the picture of the stereotypical Indian flipping a fish on a blanket while making smoke signals. First off there are very broad and diverse ways of cooking fish. With some tribes it involves calibrations traditions, and even ceremony. Cooking, eating, and food, at least in my tribe, is such a huge part of the social aspect of our culture. There are many aspects of protocol, even in our language, that determine manners, hospitality, traditions, and respect. This is the reason why I decided to learn to become a chef. I am still a student but I am very big about studying and promoting Native foods and nutrition. I am no expert how ever! I only know about my own people from what I was raised in. I grew to love food and the togetherness cooking and eating brings through my family. Even now we all gather in the kitchen.

Among certain fishing tribes, the fish are very important, and to carelessly leave a whole fish uncooked, uncleaned and to just be flipping it round on a blanket, or to be disrespecting such an important aspect of food is usually not done. The whole picture is just wrong on many levels and does not speak about the complex social and cultural importance of fish/food to many tribes and why so many would not be doing that, let alone would not be doing that while "communicating".