November 15, 2025
The Arizona Indigenous Culinary Experience returns on November 15, 2025, at the Western Spirit: Scottsdale’s Museum of the West, offering an immersive celebration of Native Arizona cuisine, arts, and cultural heritage.
Event Overview
This one-of-a-kind culinary showcase highlights both traditional and contemporary Native cuisine through diverse tasting stations, live cooking demonstrations, and interactive conversations with Indigenous chefs from Arizona’s tribal nations. Guests will enjoy an elegant setting curated by Arizona's noted Native American chefs, alongside vibrant performances and a showcase of Native arts and performances.
Cultural Program
The evening will feature a rich tapestry of foodways, music, art, and fashion reflecting the depth of Indigenous Arizona heritage. Attendees will engage with chefs, artists, and tribal representatives for a multi-sensory experience rooted in ancestral knowledge, sustainable practices, and community partnerships. The event also emphasizes Indigenous agro-tourism, giving visitors an opportunity to learn about sustainable food systems, agricultural practices, and the spiritual connections between people, environment, and traditional foods.
Event Overview
This one-of-a-kind culinary showcase highlights both traditional and contemporary Native cuisine through diverse tasting stations, live cooking demonstrations, and interactive conversations with Indigenous chefs from Arizona’s tribal nations. Guests will enjoy an elegant setting curated by Arizona's noted Native American chefs, alongside vibrant performances and a showcase of Native arts and performances.
Cultural Program
The evening will feature a rich tapestry of foodways, music, art, and fashion reflecting the depth of Indigenous Arizona heritage. Attendees will engage with chefs, artists, and tribal representatives for a multi-sensory experience rooted in ancestral knowledge, sustainable practices, and community partnerships. The event also emphasizes Indigenous agro-tourism, giving visitors an opportunity to learn about sustainable food systems, agricultural practices, and the spiritual connections between people, environment, and traditional foods.
The Arizona Indigenous Food Symposium & Arizona Indigenous Culinary Experience are two pivotal events that offers a unique opportunity to learn from indigenous peoples while celebrating and revitalizing their food traditions. This symposium held in conjuction with the Arizona Indian Festival in February 2026 brings together indigenous communities from the region to share their rich knowledge, practices, and perspectives on traditional foods, plants, and medicines. With a focus on food sovereignty, environmental justice, health and wellness, and preserving cultural food practices and relationships with the land and natural resources, this event is both enlightening and inspiring. Topics highlighted at the symposium include gathering and preparing traditional foods, restoring indigenous food systems, climate resilience strategies, decolonizing food practices, and indigenous ecological knowledge. The Arizona American Indian Tourism Association (AAITA) will present the Arizona Indigenous Culinary Experience is held in November as part of Native American Heritage Month. This event promises an elegant, unique, and authentic Arizona experience, showcasing Native Arizona cuisine, arts, and live performances. Attendees will enjoy curated tasting stations, demonstrations, and interactive conversations with indigenous chefs and demonstrators, making it a sensory delight and a profound cultural experience.
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These curated events will reflect the rich tapestry of Native Arizona with its history, foods, music, people and cultures. The event brings together many Native communities with traditional and contemporary elements that highlight and celebrate the beauty and important contributions of Arizona’s Native Peoples to Arizona culture.
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Foodies, culture enthusiasts, and Arizona lovers won’t want to miss this chance to explore the tastes, sights and highlights from our Native Arizona communities presented in a format that engages and elevates the rich living tapestry of our first peoples’ heritage. Pair this with cooking demos from local, indigenous and contemporary chefs and a vibrant, rich elevated arts program and you have a sensational multi-sensory and “Only in Arizona” experience!
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