Foraging and Relations with Jonathan Hall: Library of Congress
WATCH THE FILM
Kicking off the American Folklife Center’s Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia film series and panel discussion program is the film, Foraging and Relations with Jonathan Hall, premiering on the AFC’s Facebook event page on Wednesday, Aug. 18 at noon. In this first film of the series, co-produced with the West Virginia State Folklorist, Emily Hilliard, and Mike Costello and Amy Dawson of West Virginia’s Lost Creek Farm, filmmakers Costello and Dawson are joined by fellow hunter and forager Jonathan Hall as they sustainably harvest and preserve ramps. Jonathan reflects on the experience of being a Black outdoorsman hunting and foraging in virtually all-white spaces in rural West Virginia, discussing how racism has created unique barriers to entry to the practice of outdoor foodways traditions in Appalachia. As a teacher to his friends, to his children, and professionally, as a geography professor at West Virginia University, Jonathan uses wild food to educate about the conservation of the resources that sustain us, informed by the ethos of “relations” that has guided Indigenous communities for thousands of years before white settlers arrived in Appalachia.
Jonathan cooks Zambian stew during filming with Amy Dawson. Photo by Mike Costello
The Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia program will premiere four films made by Mike Costello and Amy Dawson (Lost Creek Farm, WV) that explore different food traditions in the state, beginning with Jonathan Hall and sustainable foraging practices (August 18th), and followed by: Korean-Appalachian cuisine and kimchi fermentation with Marlyn McClendon (Sept. 1); and Italian American ravioli and sauce making with Lou Maiuri and Turkish cuisine and seed saving with Mehmet Öztan (both on Sept. 15). All films will premiere on the AFC’s Facebook event page. On Thursday, Sept. 30 at 1:00pm EDT there will be a culminating panel discussion among community members and documentarians who will discuss the food traditions, the broader cultures of which they are a part, and related issues. You can register for the Sept. 30 Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia panel discussion at the following link: https://loc.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_INyQShOqRg-M-Xca02Inyg