Post by WAVAW Counselor, Rebecca Brass

On June 21, 2015 I volunteered my time at the Bannock Tent for National Aboriginal Day at Trout Lake, it was hot on Sunday morning when our first bannock maker arrived to the tent ready to make bannock. We started prepping the dough and heating the oil at 11am (an hour before the event was to start), when our first customers started arriving and wanted to know when the fry bread (deep fried bannock) would be ready. We assured them that it would be ready at 12pm and to be sure to come back… Well, twelve noon rolled around and so did the line up! The lineup turned out to be the largest in the park, with people waiting up to an hour to make their order. We had two separate women who took 2 ½ hour shifts making bannock and 4 dedicated volunteers who kept the flow going inside the tent. After 7hrs of flipping, selling and packaging bannock we sold our last piece and called it a night. The funds collected for the bannock sold went towards our local Elders programs in the community. It was definitely a fun way to spend National Aboriginal Day at Trout Lake and I look forward to next year’s event.. However, I will most likely be in the lineup next year!

This link shares a history of the importance of bannock in our community and recipes to make your own.

“We can do our children a favour by learning about the history of the current conflict over rights to the land and celebrating some of our common interests, such as the love of a freshly deep-fried piece of bannock.”