Children's Class: Blue Corn Mush Demonstration

After attending a cultural celebration day at Pine Springs High School and watching the Miss Pine Springs contest, where girls share their traditional talents, staff and volunteers at NABI decided to invite the new Miss Pine Springs to a Thursday Children’s Class to share her mush-making skills! The following are pictures and explanations of a demonstration on how to make a traditional Navajo dish: blue corn mush.

Miss Pine Springs scoops out the blue corn meal. She will also add cedar ash to the boiling mixture to increase the blue color of the mush.

This particular Children's Class takes place every Thursday as a part of Thursday community dinner at NABI. The community arrives at 5PM for prayers, then children and junior youth break out into their classes, then all gather again for dinner at 6.

The final product. The ingredients: boiling water, blue corn meal, and cedar ash. Individuals can add their own salt, butter, or sugar after it is served. Blue corn meal can also be made into pancakes.

This activity is part of an ongoing effort in the community to bring cultural education into the Children's Classes and Junior Youth Groups. This endeavor includes asking grandparents to give demonstrations on language, cooking, and storytelling.