The Hunt. Fish. Gather. program was created in 2013 by the Buder Center and its scholars in collaboration with Washington University Dining Services to highlight an Indigenous model of health and wellness by incorporating traditional Native foods and decolonizing the Westernized food system in the U.S.
Hunt. Fish. Gather. is a two-day event series that includes a formal dinner and a chef demonstration. Both events provide a cultural and educational opportunity for Washington University, collaborative partners, and local St. Louis Community to experience Native foods. Each year, a Native chef is invited to share their culinary skills and cultural knowledge of Native foods with guests.
In previous years, the language of Hunt. Fish. Gather. has been translated to different Native languages to represent the Buder Center scholars who are from many different Native Nations across the U.S.
The 2023 and 2022 Hunt. Fish. Gather. program was translated to the Cherokee language to acknowledge the Cherokee Buder scholars, Chef Bradley Dry (Cherokee), and Cherokee community members.
Photos from the 2023 Hunt. Fish. Gather. Dinner
View previous Hunt. Fish. Gather. events
Native people have always had an intimate relationship with the natural world as evidenced by their cultural traditions, histories, and languages. They recognize the responsibility for stewarding the environment since the plants, animals, land, water, and air play an essential role in human survival. Indigenous perspectives and teachings view these life supports as relatives that need to be cared for and managed for everything is interconnected. This has contributed to maintaining a balanced state of health and well-being of Native people on a mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual level.