ZUNI, NM (Dec. 4, 2024) — Last month, the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project had the opportunity to lead 16 students at Northern Arizona University in a traditional Pueblo cooking demonstration. Held at 2-5 p.m. on Nov. 20, this special event was part of the university’s Native American Heritage Month programming.
The original connection between the university and the youth project came through Zuni tribal member Shelby Lalio, a former ZYEP Summer Camp counselor who currently attends NAU. With her support, the Office of Indigenous Student Success extended an invitation for the youth project to visit its Flagstaff campus.
“It was so fortunate that this all came together,” said ZYEP Arts Assistant Coordinator Kandis Quam, who made the trip to NAU with Food Sovereignty Coordinator Brittny Seowtewa. “It also was really fun.”
To start, Quam and Seowtewa gave the gathered students an overview of Zuni history and culture, and they introduced ZYEP and its mission in Zuni Pueblo. Next, they gave them a history of the day’s featured dish: He’balokya, which is Zuni twice-baked wheat pudding.
“Before contact, we made Zuni pudding with corn and honey,” Quam explained. “When we got wheat from the Spanish, we realized we would get double the volume because of the gluten. We also replaced honey with sugar; sugar is more available, and we need less of it.”
The ZYEP staff had prepared a small batch of Zuni pudding in advance so the students could see and taste the final product as they learned to make it themselves, from preparing the wheat and browning the sugar to carefully mixing the two key ingredients over heat. That particular step is not easy, as the students soon learned.
“It’s a team effort,” Quam said. “One person has to hold the pot while the other one stirs. That doesn’t seem difficult, but the pudding gets hard to stir as it cooks. It can feel like concrete, but they did so well!”
“It was so much fun,” Seowtewa agreed. “The students didn’t realize it would be such hard work, and they worked up a sweat, but they also built confidence and even became a little competitive with themselves, trying to do it even better.”
The students produced three batches of the traditional pudding, molding the wheat-and-sugar paste into potato shapes and placing each piece on a corn husk to bake. All in all, Seowtewa said, the demonstration was a great success.
“The connections we made were a real highlight for me,” she said. “A Hopi group approached us and introduced themselves as our relatives, because they are Corn Clan too. We have shared lineage, and it’s so good to recognize those relationships outside of Zuni. There is always a relative somewhere.”
Quam said she loved seeing how the students came together and forged a meaningful sense of community. As she explained, these students didn’t really know each other, but they bonded and even built new friendships through this intensive hands-on activity.
“After we did some icebreaking activities and got them out of their shells, the students were asking questions, talking, laughing and joking around,” she said. “It was such a positive environment.”
Seowtewa said she hopes ZYEP will have an opportunity to return to NAU this spring to conduct another Pueblo cooking demonstration. Lalio has indicated she would like to help arrange a larger space so even more students can participate.
To learn more about the Zuni Youth Enrichment Project and its programs, and for information about making donations, partnering with ZYEP, and volunteering, call (505) 782-8000 or visit zyep.org. And, to stay up to date on the latest news and events, follow the nonprofit youth organization on Facebook (/zuniyouthenrichmentproject), Instagram (@zuniyouthenrichmentproject), YouTube (/ZuniYouth), and TikTok (/zyep09)
Founded in 2009, the nonprofit Zuni Youth Enrichment Project is dedicated to promoting resilience among Zuni youth so they will grow into strong, healthy adults who are connected with Zuni traditions. ZYEP fulfills its mission by providing positive role models, enriching programs, and nurturing spaces that contribute to the healthy development of Zuni youth. ZYEP strives to provide every child with the encouragement and opportunities they need to reach their full potential.
