Oka Kapassa: Return to Coldwater
Oka Kapassa, a celebration of the culture and traditions of American Indians who once lived in north Alabama, returns to downtown Tuscumbia for two days of educational and family fun.
After a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “Oka Kapassa: Return to Coldwater” is set to take place September 9 and 10, 2022, in and around Spring Park in downtown Tuscumbia.
The “Oka Kapassa: Return to Coldwater Festival” is a free family event featuring Native American heritage, entertainment and education through hands-on activities and demonstrations. Oh, yes, Road Trips Foodies: there’s Native American food, too.
Native American cooking at Oka Kapassa
Several well-known American Indian cooks will attend and prepare foods that were developed by their ancestors. Juanita Gardinski and brother Billy Thompson (Choctaw) are returning to Oka Kapassa to serve buffalo stew and burgers, fry bread, Indian tacos, fish, and roasted corn.
Gina Brown (Chickasaw) will travel from Ada, Oklahoma, her tribe’s current homeland, to cook traditional pashofa, a stew combining pork and cracked corn that is traditionally prepared for powwow dancers and participants. Cooked in a cast iron pot over an open fire, it is left unseasoned allowing the person eating it to season to their own taste.
Mary Newman (Eastern Cherokee) will be demonstrating traditional outdoor cooking of the 1800s, preparing foods in cast iron and clay pots over a campfire.
Admission is free.
