Nephi Craig on Cooking His Way Back to Himself

Native chef and author Nephi Craig explores the reclamation of indigenous foodways through the lens of his personal journey from addiction to sobriety. His memoir, *Our Knives Will Save Us*, details how traditional Apache and Navajo culinary practices serve as vital tools for healing and cultural preservation. Craig highlights the stark contrast between the competitive, class-based nature of fine dining and the community-centered, sacred traditions of his ancestors. He recounts the labor-intensive process of preparing barbecued corn, a technique requiring deep patience and connection to the land, as a powerful metaphor for his own recovery. By integrating ancestral knowledge with professional culinary training, he demonstrates that food acts as a bridge to identity, arguing that true decolonization requires a long-term, committed practice of emotional and spiritual reconstruction rather than mere performative activism.