Commodities (Food Of My People)

Every first Thursday of the month was commodity day on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation. My dad would get me up early. I could hear him in the house saying get Ziggy up. Come on let’s go. We would go down to the commodity house. Old man Jim Bluestone was in charge of giving the commodities out. There would be cars lined up with Indians ready to get commodities. My dad would make me carry 50lb sacks of flour on my shoulders to the car. He would also make me carry out food to other cars. Thinking back now I believe my dad was showing me off t0 the other tribal peoples and how strong I was. Every year when I came back from school my aunties would load my car up with commodities: chopped meat, powdered eggs, flour. They knew I didn’t have anything to eat. They were right. Now when I go home I wish for chopped meat. My dad used to be able to cook canned chicken ten different ways.