Wild onion dinner facts for kids
Wild Onion dinners are special get-togethers held in the spring by many Native American tribes in Oklahoma. These tribes, especially those from the southeastern United States, celebrate the arrival of wild onions. These onions are a traditional food that many tribes east of the Mississippi River have enjoyed for a very long time.
Contents
Wild Onion Dinners: A Spring Tradition
These dinners are important social events. They bring communities together to share food, stories, and traditions. The focus is on the wild onion, which grows in the spring. This plant has been a familiar food for many Native American tribes for hundreds of years.
What Are Wild Onions?
The term "wild onion" usually refers to certain plant types. The most common ones are Allium vineale or Allium canadense. Another type, Allium tricoccum (also known as ramps), is eaten in the eastern United States but not typically in Oklahoma.
Families often go out together to gather wild onions. They collect these plants from February to April. You can even find wild onions growing in cities!
The Feast: What's on the Menu?
At these dinners, wild onions are usually cooked with scrambled eggs. They are often fried together. Sometimes, poke salad is added to the dish.
Popular side dishes include pork, frybread, and corn bread. For dessert, people often enjoy grape dumplings. Historically, these dumplings were made from the juice of native grapes, sometimes called "possum grapes". Today, they are often made using frozen grape juice and biscuit mix.
Community Gatherings and Fun
Many Wild Onion dinners are hosted by cultural clubs, Native American churches, and stompgrounds. Stompgrounds are special places where traditional ceremonies and dances are held.
These gatherings can include gospel sings or prayers spoken in tribal languages. Stickball games are also common. Stickball is a traditional game that later inspired the French game of lacrosse.
A Long-Standing Tradition
Wild Onion dinners have been a tradition for a long time. For example, a cookbook published in 1932 by the Indian Women's Club of Tulsa suggested using scallions with garlic as a substitute for wild onions. These could be fried in bacon grease.
The Indian Women's Club in Bartlesville has held an annual wild onion festival for over 50 years. This shows how important and lasting this tradition is for many communities.
See also
