What are indigenous foods, where do we get them, and how do we prepare them? Many native North American foods, both cultivated and harvested, were removed from our diets through intentional colonial efforts. Mariah Gladstone is leading the way in a food movement that is revitalizing and incorporating these important foods into the contemporary diet. During her cooking demonstration, she will prepare one of her original recipes and showcase other indigenous foods that can easily be used in your own kitchen. Mariah will prepare a selection of indigenous dishes using the Charlie Cart at the Great Falls Public Library.

Mariah Gladstone, Piikuni (Blackfeet) and Tsalagi (Cherokee), grew up in Northwest Montana on and near the Blackfeet Reservation. She graduated from Columbia University with a degree in Environmental Engineering and returned home where she began her work on food advocacy. She developed Indigikitchen, an online cooking platform, to revitalize and re-imagine Native foods. She then earned a Master’s degree at SUNY-ESF in the Center for Native Peoples and the Environment. Mariah has been recognized as a Luce Indigenous Knowledge Fellow by the First Nations Development Institute, as well as a 2025 Castanea Fellow by the Earth Island Institute. She has shared the importance of reconnecting to traditional foods at events throughout North America and abroad, as well as through appearances on the Today Show, CBC, and numerous podcasts. In addition to all this, Mariah offers a variety of cultural experiences for visitors to the Blackfeet Nation and Glacier National Park. Mariah released her first book, Mountains to Oceans: Kids’ Recipes from Native Land, in January 2025.

The Charlie Cart is provided thanks to support from the Great Falls Public Library Foundation. This program is made possible thanks to additional support from coal tax placed into Montana’s Cultural and Aesthetic Projects Trust Fund.