Grandma Treesaw (otherwise known as Teresa Ward) has long been making Teslin Tlingit-style bannock for her friends and family in the Yukon. In the early days, everyone who tried Grandma Treesaw’s bannock recipe—which makes bannock that is crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside—was instantly hooked and asked her to teach them to make their own at home, so Teresa started hosting workshops to share her knowledge and culture with other Yukoners. 

As more and more people developed a taste for Grandma Treesaw’s bannock, the demand for the recipe grew. In 2014, Teresa started selling bags of premixed ingredients to allow even more people to make their own delicious bannock at home. Now with the ready-mixed bags, anyone can have a true taste of the Yukon, regardless of their address!

For Teresa, a citizen of Kwanlin Dün First Nation, sharing her love of and recipe for bannock is a way to honour and celebrate her First Nations culture, family, and traditions. In addition to being a master bannock baker and successful entrepreneur, Teresa is a community liaison at the Yukon University campus in Teslin and a proud grandmother of eight with another one arriving end of October 2021. ​

Allison Kormendy is Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in from her father’s side and Yupik from her mother’s. Born and raised in Dawson City, Yukon, Allison loves to explore, seek out adventures, and volunteer for community events. Her community focus, work ethic, and leadership have been recognized with awards from the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Government and the Assembly of First Nations, Yukon Region.

Currently employed as the director of wellness for the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in Government, Allison is also a registered holistic nutritionist and the owner and operator of Wild Roots, a small business promoting holistic nutrition and well-being on a cellular level. Raised immersed in tradition, Wild Roots connects Allison’s traditional teachings with contemporary science and holistic health.

With high rates of chronic disease in the Yukon, Allison knows that food can be the most powerful form of medicine or the slowest form of poison. Traditional foods are especially important for strength and vitality. Allison also understands that healing journeys are life long and unique to each being. For this reason, Wild Roots provides a diverse range of products that prioritize local ingredients to support individual health and wellness journeys. These include but are not limited to locally harvested teas, “boosts,” therapeutic elixirs, fermented foods, bone broth and the best-selling Klondike Kombucha.

​Wild Roots products are just one way that Allison is helping to create stronger and healthier generations. She also shares her knowledge with everyone she meets, through workshops and through her online platforms. 
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​This video is from the Feeding Our Spirits series, which captures the stories of the entrepreneurs in our Local Food Cohort. Click here to see more videos.

Follow Fireweed and Fennell:
IG: @fireweed.and.fennell
This video was made by Mark Aspland of Aksut Media

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Christine is Northern Tutchone and was born in Whitehorse, Yukon. She is a mother of 5 boys, Christian,  Sébastien, Brandon, Jaden, and Aaron. At the age of twelve, she moved to Calgary with her mother (who still lives there today with her three grandchildren and son). Her maternal grandmother, Graffee George, is recorded as a missing and murdered Indigenous woman. Her maternal grandfather was a Shaman, and Christine knows that a number of her family members hold special gifts. Christine is a vision dreamer and has dreamed about her own future.

For the past four years, she has delved into cooking and has developed a deep passion for food. Today, she is committed to bringing her love of food to the people of the Yukon. Her food truck name is Bannock Slap Indigenous Soul Food, which comes from a memory of the first time she made bannock with her mother (who gave her the bannock to slap raw). Bannock Slap Indigenous Soul Food features a menu of local, traditional and contemporary flavours. Customers can enjoy a variety of bannock options along with dishes, ice creams and teas featuring seasonal produce.

​Christine has been back in the Yukon for over five years and during this time she has learned a lot about colonization and genocide. Her goal is to move forward with thoughts and prayers and to be the change she wants to see, starting with her business.