Fort Worth restaurant owner serves daily taste of Native American pride
FORT WORTH - November is Native American Heritage month, a time to appreciate the contributions and rich history of Native Americans in our country.
"We want to remind people of the past because it's real easy to forget," said Hooker's Grill owner Ruth Hooker.
Fry bread is a staple on Native American tables. But at Hooker's Grill in the heart of the Stockyards, owner Ruth Hooker and her mom Kathryn serve it up for everyone to enjoy.
"The frybread itself came out of hard times because back when Natives were displaced and put on reservations, they lost their food source so this was what was brought to them flour other things, they had to make do," said Hooker.
Ruth's family are members of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Their homemade frybread, whether it's' smothered with beans and meat as an Indian taco or a sweet version served with a berry sauce called Wojapi is their way of sharing their Native American pride with others.
"The frybread is a gateway to education ," said Hooker. "And you know that's true with all foods when you expose other cultures to your food then now you have a starting point for a conversation."
Today they're frying up a large batch of frybread for a company celebrating Native American Heritage month.
"I've seen an uptick on corporations that have had us cater large orders of frybread," said Hooker. "I haven't ever seen that happen, before this year."
But she is proud of her Choctaw heritage all year long.
"I think about my great grandfather, he was a code talker in WW1 most people are not aware that the Choctaw were the very first code talkers in WW1," said Hooker.
He never taught his children the Choctaw language.
"A lot of our ancestors lived with shame just because of who they were," said Hooker. "So now we can flip the script and put the pride back into the culture that deserves that."
