Bannock panic cook-off promotes organic products

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When it was all over that Sunday morning, Elias Lonethunder was a pretty happy boy.

The 11-year-old from the Ocean Man First Nation struggled to carry away his prize from the contest-a 10 kilogram bag of organic flour.

Lonethunder won the prize by being the youngest of 18 competitors in the first Organic Bannock Panic at the powwow grounds on Sept. 15, one of the last events held during the Treaty Four commemorations.

For the organizer, the chef, and the economic development advisor for the File Hills Qu'Appelle Tribal Council (FHQTC), the cook-off was a way to drum up interest in the council's newest economic development project: creating a new food for consumers thousands of kilometers away from the area's reserves.

"This is an awareness for the members for our 11 First Nations that the resources and time that's been invested into this project is leading somewhere," said George Fayant.

As well as the cook-off, the bannock panic also introduced the product that the tribal council hopes to sell. The bannock, in sealed packages, is made from organically grown ingredients-flour, salt, water, shortening and eggs.

Unlike what was cooked at the powwow grounds, the organic bannock produced for the tribal council's commercial initiative was produced by the University of Saskatchewan's food sciences department and is sliced thinly, in order to fit in toasters.

And it passed the taste test with those who know their bannock best-those who watched the bannock cook-off while waiting for Sunday's powwow to begin.

"We did a survey, we got about 80 questionnaires back, and the feedback looks very positive," Fayant added. "People think the product we had for sampling today is a good product, and we hope to have it in markets some time next year."

Under direction of a FHQTC-owned company, First Nations Organic Food Products, the council hopes to introduce their bannock to shoppers of organic products in North America and Europe.

"We're studying the feasibility of taking this organic bannock to markets such as California, France and Germany," he said.

If the organic bannock takes off in the marketplace, many Aboriginal farms could be supplying organic crops to be used for its ingredients, Fayant said. Aboriginal governments such as the FHQTC are looking to expand their involvement with agriculture, and believe organic farming is not only more economical but also better reflects traditional beliefs.

"As First Nations peoples, the protection of Mother Earth is foremost in our minds. We want to leave this world a better world than the one we inherited," he said.

As well, band councils want to have more of their land obtained through Treaty Land Entitlements (TLE) in the 1990s put to use by their people. While much of the land obtained through the TLE process is rented to non-Aboriginal farmers, many band members don't have the expertise or the money to work as farmers.

"We're hoping that we can convince those First Nations to transition those lands into organic lands," he said.

"We want to have an organic market in which our farmers will be able to sell their produce either to an organic mill or a seller who can make the product for us."

A consultant hired by the tribal council will spend the next two weeks in France and Germany studying how the organic bannock can be marketed, Fayant said. "We are studying whether a product such as this would sell in those countries, how it should be marketed and how it should be presented," he added.