FAST FIVE Shane Clark celebrates Native culture through cuisine
Meet Shane Clark, the chef-owner of Pow'Waw Food Truck in Post Falls.
He is of Turtle Mouintain Chippewa out of North Dakota. Shane has been a chef for 11 years in the Coeur d'Alene/North Idaho area. He has wanted to bring authentic Native American cuisine to the area for years and finally gets to share that with Pow'Waw.
1) How is business at the Pow'Waw Food Truck, and where can people find you?
Business is going well at the food truck both for in-person walk-ups and and caters that we do. People are taking really well the novelty of Native American cuisine. You can find us at the front of the Post Falls Pavilion at 3758 E. Horsehaven Ave., Post Falls.
2) What motivated you to start the first Native American food truck in our area, and are there any others like Pow'Waw anywhere in the U.S.?
What motivated me to start Pow'Waw was my heritage and passion as a chef. I wanted to bring food that is both nutritious and tasty to our area and it's a bonus for cultural connection. There are other places that focus on pre-European Native American food in the country. What sets us apart is our use of frybread. We are the first of its kind and totally homegrown and unique to North Idaho.
3) How do your Native customs and culture integrate with the food you serve?
Our Native customs and culture integrate with the food we serve by the use of strictly indigenous ingredients, minus the frybread. We use indigenous herbs and spices only as well as our meat options. Native culture has strong roots in gifting and generosity and that's how we relate to our guests, how we cook our food and in our honest, clean and generous portions sizes we offer. Food is one of the most important bridges to culture and we believe we capture that in every bite.
4) What is something people would be surprised to know about you?
People would be surprised to know that Pow'Waw is the only food truck in the country that serves pre-European Native American cuisine.
5) What are a few of your favorite dishes, and how did you learn how to make them?
My absolute favorite dish is cochonito pibil, which is a Mayan dish. I learned to cook that growing up through a family friend and it was the first dish I ever made. After that would honestly be our signature Pow'Waw frybread entree at the truck. It took me a few months to conceive this dish to be something that captures the history and modernity of indigenous food. Its flavor profile is unique and distinctive and is something I could eat every day.
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