Taste of the Plains

By: Jonnie Taté Finn

KYLE - Entrepreneurs on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation hope a four-inch energy bar that mimics a traditional Lakota recipe will provide a boost to both people's health and the area's lagging economy.

Health professionals and tribal members say the Tanka Bar, made of dried buffalo meat and berries, is an innovative way to improve people's health and their pocketbooks in a place where diabetes and poverty are major issues.

"It was pretty good," Lori Whirlwind Horse said after sampling the product, which makes its official debut during the 21st annual He Sapa Wacipi na Oskate (Black Hills Pow Wow) in Rapid City Oct. 5.

Whirlwind Horse said the recipe is comparable to the one her mother uses to make wasna for traditional ceremonies, such as sun dances or peyote meetings.

"I think it's a good idea" to market a traditional food. "It's how we used to live a long time ago. It's healthy. But I think (non-Natives) will have to acquire a taste for it, since everything these days is fast food, and this doesn't taste like fast food.

"That was the point, said Karlene Hunter, chief executive officer and co-founder of Native American Natural Foods, the company behind the Tanka Bar.

Read more here: http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070928/NEWS/709280329/1001