Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio
What is NAICCO Cuisine?
NAICCO Cuisine is a Native American owned and operated food trailer that offers a one-of-a-kind menu consisting of exquisite Native American street food, travelling throughout Ohio to bring you savory favorites from various parts of Indian Country. The food trailer embodies what really makes the Native American Indian Center of Central Ohio (NAICCO) what it is, and that's the people who personify NAICCO and what they do as a Native-focused agency in Ohio. Like many heartfelt Native American stories, NAICCO Cuisine began as a humble, grassroots effort stemming from the local Native community's voice. Notably, NAICCO Cuisine is the first food trailer of its kind in the country.
Native American street food featured on NAICCO Cuisine's menu includes:
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Fry Bread ("River People" Family Recipe)
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NDN Taco
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NDN Taco Bowl
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NAICCO Pocket
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Buffalo Burger
How did NAICCO Cuisine come to be?
Over the past decade and through an array of community engagement activities, NAICCO leadership and Native American community members identified an in-house sustainability plan as a top priority. This would allow meaningful Native American programs, events, and gatherings to continue as a central part of future NAICCO efforts. NAICCO team members therefore applied for a grant from the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), deliberating with community elders, families, youth, and the NAICCO Board of Trustees to be certain every element necessary for assuring the success of the project was considered.
Three focus areas emerged from these discussions, which are now the three main pillars of NAICCO Cuisine: 1) Social Development, 2) Economic Development, and 3) Cultural Preservation/Restoration.
What does NAICCO Cuisine provide for the community?
NAICCO Cuisine creates opportunities for Native community members to earn extra income and develop future employability skills through hands-on experience and training. Just as importantly, it also provides a nurturing atmosphere that encourages community buy-in and ownership. NAICCO Cuisine was designed as a platform for fostering the traditional Native American values and teachings which are the foundational fabric of Native communities—prayer, respect, compassion, truth, generosity, humility, and wisdom.
"In addition to serving as a vehicle for sustaining NAICCO programming, it also allows us to engage the general public, raise awareness, build relationships, and create a real sense of visibility as Native Americans in today's world."
—NAICCO Project Director Ty Smith
By generating revenue to supplement ongoing programs and activities, the sustainability initiative behind NAICCO Cuisine helps ensure a future for NAICCO and the people it serves and stands for. It also represents an attainable future for all Native people; that of writing a new, successful chapter in Native American history.
What are the future plans for NAICCO Cuisine?
We are excited to continue bringing Native American street food to Central Ohio and are looking forward to future opportunities that will allow us to share NAICCO Cuisine with the rest of Ohio and beyond. As always, we will take pride in sharing a culturally rich, unique, and inviting atmosphere with our customers while simultaneously providing them an exquisite meal.
For more information…
Should you have any questions about the NAICCO Cuisine schedule or anything else related to NAICCO Cuisine, please feel free to contact us via email at naicco1975@gmail.com.
NAICCO Cuisine 2023 Schedule: Street Food Finder – NAICCO Cuisine
Thank you!
Following a successful unveiling amid the pandemic—receiving stellar reviews and features in Ohio-area media outlets—NAICCO Cuisine has had a superb first two years! Our team is both humbled and grateful, and we could not have imagined such an experience in our wildest dreams. Thank you to each and every one of you out there who made NAICCO Cuisine's first two years truly memorable, and for helping us get off to a great start!