Bannock (Indigenous American food)

Bannock, skaan (or scone), Indian bread,alatiq,orfrybreadis now found throughout North-America, including theInuitof Canada andAlaska, otherAlaska Natives, theFirst Nationsof the rest of Canada, theNative Americans in the United States, and theMétis.
A food made frommaize,rootsand treesapmay have been produced byindigenous North Americansprior to contact with outsiders.
Native American tribes who atecamasinclude theNez Perce,Cree,Coast Salish,Lummi, andBlackfoottribes, among many others. Camas bulbs, out of which bannocks can be made, contributed to the survival of members of theLewis and Clark Expedition(1804–06).
Some sources claim that bannock was unknown in North America until the 1860s when it was created by theNavajowho were incarcerated atFort Sumner.
According to other sources, fur traders introduced bannock to tribes in North America,and that a bread, and the name 'bannock', were originally introduced from Scotland.
Other languages do offer hints of European influence, however, for exampleNavajo:bááh dah díníilghaazhh"bread that bubbles" (i.e. in fat), where "bááh" is a borrowing from Spanish:panfor flour and yeast bread, as opposed to the older Navajo:łeesʼáánwhich refers to maize bread cooked in hot ashesLikewise,Alutiiqalatiqcomes from the Russian:ола́дьи,romanized:oladyi"pancakes, fritters."
Bannock is generally prepared with white orwhole-wheat flour,baking powder, sugar, lard and water or milk,which are combined and kneaded (possibly with spices, dried fruits or other flavouring agents added) then fried inrendered fat,vegetable oil, orshortening, baked in an oven or cooked on a stick.
Bannock is the most universal of dishes in theindigenous Canadianrepertoire, and is used equally in theArctic,Plains,subarctic, and Pacific cultural areas. However, the modern recipes for bannock are clearly influenced by the government rations that were distributed onIndian reservesin the late 19th century when access tocountry foods(plants and animals native to the region) were restricted by the arrival of non-indigenous settlers.  Such rations included the staples of theEuropean Canadiandiet at that time: wheat flour, sugar, lard, and butter; all high-calorie, low-nutrient, shelf-stable foods produced in bulk quantities and shipped long distances (together with the preservative and flavour additive, salt). These new ingredients helped indigenous people to survive the loss of access to country foods, and are now thought of by some as fully a part of indigenous identity, and even as "Indian soul food". However, for others they are a reminder of the negative impacts of colonialism, and are regarded as an imposition.
The history and political significance of bannock has changed over the years in North America. Bannock has had and continues to hold great significance to Indigenous American peoples, from pre-contact to the present.
There were many regional variations of bannock that included different types of flour, and the addition of dried or fresh fruit.Cooking methods were similarly diverse. Some rolled the dough in sand then pit-cooked it; the sand was then brushed off. Other groups baked the bannock in clay or rock ovens. Others wrapped the dough around a green, hardwood stick and toasted it over an open fire.Bannock's functionality made it simple to cook and consume while conducting daily activities at home, or hunting, trapping, fishing, and gathering out on the land.
European colonizationdramatically changed the traditional ways of Indigenous Americans, including the relationship they had with bannock. Whereas bannock was once a food of function for travel and work, it became a necessary staple for Indigenous people to feed their families and stave off starvation when they were forced to give up much of their traditional food sources through the reservation system. On these reserves, traditional methods of hunting, gathering, and farming was replaced by government food rations, usually consisting of flour and lard.As a result of this policy, indigenous knowledge of edible plants and other natural foodstuff was lost, while wheat and flour entered into Indigenous bannock recipes, drastically altering their nature.