RECIPES NEEDED: Cookbook to be Dedicated to Domestic Violence Victims

Levi Rickert, editor-in-chief in Native Currents. Discussion »

Recipes Needed

NORFOLK, NEBRASKA - Tawna Luschen, who has worked in Domestic Violence Program at the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska for the past three and half years, has heard and seen enough.

As a domestic violence outreach advocate for the Tribe, she has heard firsthand the sad stories of violence committed against Native women.

American Indian women are seven times more likely to be victims of domestic violence than the general population, according to the US Department of Justice. More than one of three Indigenous women will be raped in their lifetimes and nearly 86 percent of the perpetrators are non-Native men.

“I deal with women who are victims of physical, verbal and sexual abuse,”

said Luschen. "This abuse stalking and even strangulation - People will call it choking someone, but it is really attempting to strangle women."

The harsh realities of the perpetrated against Native women has prompted Luschen to seek recipes to be assembled in a cookbook. She wants to assemble a cookbook with recipes that can be dedicated to domestic violence victims known by those submitting recipes. Her goal is to see the recipe cookbook assembled by October, which is Domestic Violence Month.

“I am looking for traditional recipes or a simple recipe people love to make,”

said Luschen. "Unfortunately, many of the youth just don't know how to cook these days. Some don't even know how to make fry bread or traditional soups. I would like to see the recipes that should be passed down from one generation to the next."

The cookbook will also contain useful information to curb violence against Native women. "People just don't understand the seriousness of domestic violence," states Luschen. "And, if people don't have a person that they don't want their recipes dedicated to, I still want their recipes."

The book will be given out to the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska tribal members. The Domestic Violence Program works conducts counseling sessions at numerous tribal service centers in three states: Nebraska, South Dakota and Iowa.

The Domestic Violence Program of the Ponca Tribe of Nebraska is funded through a grant from the Office of Violence Against Women, US Department of Justice.

Those interested in submitting a recipe may do so by sending it to:

Tawna Luschen
1800 Syracuse Avenue
Norfolk, Nebraska 68701
tawnal@poncotribe-ne.org

posted August 16, 2011 6:00 am edt