imported>Hoodoowoman: the "i" is capitalized when referring to the people

2025-06-09T02:02:22Z

the "i" is capitalized when referring to the people

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{{Short description|Variety of flatbread}}
{{Use American English|date = April 2019}}
{{Use mdy dates|date = April 2019}}
{{distinguish|fried bread}}
{{Infobox food
| name = Frybread
| image = Frybread.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption =
| alternate_name =
| country = [[North America]]
| region =
| creator = [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]
| course =
| type = [[Flatbread]]
| served =
| main_ingredient = Dough, [[leavening agent]], fat ([[Cooking oil|oil]], [[shortening]], or [[lard]])
| variations =
| calories =
| other = State bread of [[South Dakota]]
}}
'''Frybread''' (also spelled '''fry bread''') is a dish of the Indigenous people of North America that is a flat dough bread, [[frying|fried]] or [[deep frying|deep-fried]] in oil, [[shortening]], or [[lard]].

Made with simple ingredients, generally wheat flour, water, salt, and sometimes baking powder, frybread can be eaten alone or with various toppings such as [[honey]], [[jam]], powdered sugar, [[venison]], or beef. It is the base for [[Indian tacos]].

Frybread has a complex cultural history that is inextricably intertwined with [[Colonialism and america|colonialism]] and [[Indian removal|displacement of Native Americans]]. The ingredients for frybread were provided to Native Americans to prevent them from starving when they were moved from areas where they could grow and forage their traditional foods to areas that would not support their traditional foods. Critics see the dish as both a symbol of colonization and a symbol of resilience.

== History ==
According to [[Navajo people|Navajo]] tradition, frybread was created in 1864 using the flour, sugar, salt and [[lard]] that was given to them by the United States government when the Navajo, who were living in [[Arizona]], were forced to make the 300-mile journey known as the "[[Long Walk of the Navajo|Long Walk]]" and relocate to [[Bosque Redondo]], [[New Mexico]], onto land that could not easily support their traditional staples of vegetables and beans.<ref name="millerSMITH2008" /> To prevent the displaced Native Americans from starving, the United States government provided a small set of staple food items, which included the ingredients with which to create a simple quick bread which was cooked in a pan of hot lard over coals and became known as frybread.<ref name="millerSMITH2008" /> The food eventually spread to other tribes.<ref name=":1" /> [[American Indian boarding schools|Boarding schools]] also helped to spread frybread in Native American diets.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Talahongva|first=Patty|date=Spring 2018|title=No More 'Die Bread': How Boarding Schools Impacted Native Diet and the Resurgence of Indigenous Food Sovereignty|journal=Journal of American Indian Education|volume=57|issue=1 |pages=145–53|doi=10.5749/jamerindieduc.57.1.0145|s2cid=158695489 }}</ref>

Frybread was named the official state bread of [[South Dakota]] in 2005.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.netstate.com/states/tables/state_food.htm|title=Official State Foods from NETSTATE.COM|website=www.netstate.com|accessdate=March 11, 2023}}</ref> That same year, activist [[Suzan Shown Harjo]] wrote a piece against frybread in ''[[Indian Country Today]]'', calling the dish "emblematic of the long trails from home and freedom to confinement and rations...It's the connecting dot between healthy children and obesity, hypertension, diabetes, dialysis, blindness, amputations, and slow death"; critics have accused Harjo of overstating her case and unfairly blaming frybread for problems facing Native Americans.<ref name="millerSMITH2008" /> In 2012 the Phoenix restaurant [[The Fry Bread House]] was named an American Classic by the [[James Beard Foundation Award: 2010s|James Beard Foundation]].<ref name=":3" />

== Culture and symbolism ==
[[File:Making Frybread.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|A member of the [[Muscogee|Creek]] tribe making frybread (2004)]]
Frybread became inextricably intertwined with Native American culture and feelings toward colonialization and displacement, and also with pride in the resilience of a people and culture.<ref name="millerSMITH2008" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2019-01-23 |title=Navajo frybread is a golden crisp canvas of possibilities |url=https://thetakeout.com/navajo-frybread-golden-crisp-canvas-of-possibilities-1831748788 |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=[[The Takeout (website)|The Takeout]] |language=en}}</ref>

According to [[Smithsonian (magazine)|''Smithsonian Magazine'']], for many Native Americans, "frybread links generation with generation and also connects the present to the painful narrative of Native American history".<ref name="millerSMITH2008" />

Frybread's significance to Native Americans has been described as complicated<ref name="millerSMITH2008">{{Cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/frybread-79191/|title=Frybread|last=Miller|first=Jen|date=2008|website=Smithsonian|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190526200523/https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/frybread-79191/|archive-date=May 26, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=June 4, 2019}}</ref> and their relationship with it conflicted.<ref name="ruppNATGEOnov232016">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/11/native-american-cuisine-returns-to-its-roots/|title=Native American Cuisine Returns to Its Roots|last=Rupp|first=Rebecca|date=November 23, 2016|website=National Geographic|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604190009/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/people-and-culture/food/the-plate/2016/11/native-american-cuisine-returns-to-its-roots/|archive-date=June 4, 2019|url-status=dead|access-date=June 4, 2019}}</ref> Although frybread is often associated with "traditional" Native American cuisine, some Native American chefs reject it as a symbol of colonialism. Indigenous chef [[Sean Sherman]] calls it "everything that isn't Native American food",<ref name="lamSPLENDID3nov2017">{{Cite web|url=https://www.splendidtable.org/story/exploring-indigenous-kitchens-of-north-america-with-sean-sherman|title=Exploring indigenous kitchens of North America with Sean Sherman|last=Lam|first=Francis|date=November 3, 2017|website=www.splendidtable.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604143306/https://www.splendidtable.org/story/exploring-indigenous-kitchens-of-north-america-with-sean-sherman|archive-date=June 4, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=June 4, 2019}}</ref> writing that it represents "perseverance and pain, ingenuity and resilience".<ref name="ShermanDooley2017">{{cite book|author1=Sean Sherman|author2=Beth Dooley|title=The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ecKenQAACAAJ|year=2017|publisher=University of Minnesota Press|isbn=978-0-8166-9979-7}}</ref> Frybread became a symbol of resilience as it was developed out of necessity using government-provided flour, sugar, and lard.<ref name="judkisWaPo22nov2017">{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/this-is-not-a-trend-native-american-chefs-resist-the-columbusing-of-indigenous-foods/2017/11/21/a9ca5be6-c8ba-11e7-b0cf-7689a9f2d84e_story.html|title='This is not a trend': Native American chefs resist the 'Columbusing' of indigenous foods|last=Judkis|first=Maura|date=November 22, 2017|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603135629/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/food/this-is-not-a-trend-native-american-chefs-resist-the-columbusing-of-indigenous-foods/2017/11/21/a9ca5be6-c8ba-11e7-b0cf-7689a9f2d84e_story.html|archive-date=June 3, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=June 3, 2019}}</ref> However, indigenous chefs such as Sherman consider it a symbol of colonial oppression,<ref name="judkisWaPo22nov2017" /> as the ingredients were being provided because the government had moved the people onto land that could not support growing traditional staples like corn and beans.<ref name="millerSMITH2008" /><ref name="d'ErricoICT13jul2017">{{Cite web|url=https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/not-fry-bread-the-sioux-chef-s-indigenous-kitchen-EYo0CP_atE-EzMCVpTgm0w/|title=(Not) Fry Bread: The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen|last=d'Errico|first=Peter|date=July 13, 2017|website=IndianCountryToday.com|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604150049/https://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/archive/not-fry-bread-the-sioux-chef-s-indigenous-kitchen-EYo0CP_atE-EzMCVpTgm0w/|archive-date=June 4, 2019|url-status=live|access-date=June 4, 2019}}</ref>

The journalist and documentary filmmaker [[Patty Talahongva]], who is [[Hopi]] of the Corn Clan, calls frybread "Die Bread" and associates it with diseases endemic to Native Americans, including gallbladder disease, diabetes, and more. She attributes the spread of frybread to boarding schools, like the [[Phoenix Indian School]], which she attended in the late 1970s. She also describes the movement toward indigenous [[food sovereignty]], which promotes healthy foods like corn, beans, and squash, instead of starchy, high-fat foods like frybread.<ref name=":0" />

==Preparation and serving==
[[File:Food of the Gods, making frybread in Tanana, Alaska.jpg|thumb|Frybread being cooked in a [[cast-iron skillet]] during a funeral potlatch in [[Tanana, Alaska]].]]
A typical frybread recipe consists of flour, water, salt, a small amount of oil or lard, and sometimes baking powder or more rarely yeast.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=November 28, 2022 |title=From the simplest ingredients to the most delicious dishes, Fry Bread House is cooking up a storm |url=https://www.12news.com/article/life/food/plate48-the-fry-bread-house-native-american-food-phoenix/75-b93ddcaa-2274-42e5-80ee-6c0e186c125b |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=12news.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The ingredients are mixed and worked into a simple dough, and covered with a cloth for 30 minutes to an hour, until the dough rises. It is then formed into small balls, and are either rolled or pulled into flat discs prior to frying in hot oil.<ref name="millerSMITH2008" />[[File:Frybread pop-up - November 2023 - Sarah Stierch 04.jpg|thumb|A frybread taco, [[Taco#Indian taco|Indian taco]], or Navajo taco, is a frybread topped with various items, normally venison or beef, as well as other toppings commonly found in [[taco]]s.]]It is served both in homes and at gatherings such as [[Pow wow|pow-wows]] and [[potlatch]]es as well as at state fairs and other festivals.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stradley |first=Linda |date=2015-04-21 |title=Indian Fry Bread and Indian Taco Recipe |url=https://whatscookingamerica.net/history/navajofrybread.htm |access-date=2023-02-05 |website=What's Cooking America |language=en-US}}</ref> The way it is served varies from region to region and different tribes have different recipes. It can be found in its many ways at state fairs and pow-wows, but what is served to the paying public may be different from what is served in private homes and in the context of tribal family relations.

They may be eaten plain, salted, or with sugar or honey, or as a base for [[Taco#Indian taco|Navajo tacos]].<ref name=":1" />

== In popular culture ==
[[File:Mille Lacs Indian Museum-07.jpg|thumb|Indian Fry Bread exhibit display at [[Mille Lacs Indian Museum]]]]
* Frybread, and the phrase "Frybread Power", is featured in [[Sherman Alexie|Sherman Alexie's]] 1998 film ''[[Smoke Signals (film)|Smoke Signals]].'' Characters are frequently seen eating, frying, or discussing the bread's taste and cultural importance.<ref name="millerSMITH2008" /><ref>{{Cite web |title="Smoke Signals," p. 3 |url=https://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc52.2010/h-mSmokesignals/3.html |access-date=2022-04-21 |website=www.ejumpcut.org}}</ref>
* [[Keith Secola]] features it in his song ''Fry Bread''.<ref name="millerSMITH2008" />
* A fictional frybread contest formed the plotline for the 2012 [[mockumentary]], ''[[More Than Frybread]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McNeel |first=Jack |date=24 March 2012 |title=More Than Frybread Mockumentary Going Rez to Rez |url=http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/03/24/more-than-frybread-mockumentary-going-rez-to-rez-104568 |website=[[Indian Country Today]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329091615/http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/03/24/more-than-frybread-mockumentary-going-rez-to-rez-104568 |archive-date=March 29, 2012 }}</ref>
* ''Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story'' is a 2019 picture book by [[Kevin Noble Maillard]] and illustrated by [[Juana Martinez-Neal]] which in 2020 won the [[Robert F. Sibert Informational Book Medal]] and was an honor book in the [[American Indian Youth Literature Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626727465/frybread|title=Fry Bread|website=Macmillan|accessdate=March 11, 2023}}</ref>
* A 2021 episode of ''[[Reservation Dogs]]'', an Indigenous American television series created by [[Sterlin Harjo]] and [[Taika Waititi]] for [[FX Productions]], features a character performed by [[Sten Joddi]] who is an Indigenous rapper and raps a song called "Greasy Frybread".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14708636/ | title=What About Your Dad | website=[[IMDb]] }}</ref>
* The 2023 film ''[[Frybread Face and Me]]'' is a Navajo coming-of-age story.

== Similar foods ==
* [[Bannock (Indigenous American)|Bannock]] of the [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] of Canada shares a similar cultural history with frybread.
* Modern [[Lángos]] from [[Hungary]] is similar to frybread.
* In [[Russia]] a fried flatbread made from yeast dough is called {{Lang|ru-latn|pryazhenik}} ({{langx|ru|пряженик}}).<ref>{{cite web |title=Пряженики вологодские — рецепт с фото пошагово |url=https://www.iamcook.ru/showrecipe/28287 |website=www.iamcook.ru}}</ref>
* The [[Māori people]] of [[New Zealand]] also have a frybread called parāoa parai.

== See also ==
* [[Fried dough]]
* [[List of bread dishes]]
* [[List of fried dough foods]]
* [[List of quick breads]]
* [[Indigenous cuisine of the Americas]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Cookbook|Fry Bread}}
* {{Commons category-inline|Frybread}}

{{American bread}}
{{Flatbreads}}
{{Doughnut}}
{{Street food}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Flatbreads]]
[[Category:American breads]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Midwestern United States]]
[[Category:Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Symbols of South Dakota]]
[[Category:Deep fried foods]]
[[Category:Quick breads]]
[[Category:Post-Columbian Native American cuisine]]
[[Category:Bread dishes]]
[[Category:Fur trade]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Southwestern United States]]
[[Category:Cuisine of Arizona]]
[[Category:American desserts]]
[[Category:Oklahoma cuisine]]
[[Category:New Mexican cuisine]]

Frybread - Revision history

imported>Hoodoowoman: the "i" is capitalized when referring to the people