CRYSTAL WAHPEPAH, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, Oakland, CA
Crystal Wahpepah (Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma) is driven by an understanding of food as a bridge to connect others with Native issues. She opened the first Native woman–owned restaurant in Northern California, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, with the objective of acknowledging the Indigenous inhabitants of the land upon which we live, reclaiming Native foodways, and educating others on the health benefits of Indigenous food. Among her accomplishments, Crystal was a 2022 James Beard Emerging Chef nominee, was a JBF chef at the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, is a member of the Beard Foundation/State Department collaborative American Culinary Corps, and has appeared on Chopped.
