Native American Benefit Comes to O Street Aug. 26

Gtown Bites, the eatery on O Street near Wisconsin Avenue, will hold a benefit dinner on Wednesday, Aug. 26, for the Pawnee Nation and Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma.

Nasser Zakikhani, owner of Gtown Bites, said that he knows some of the tribal leaders, whom he met during his information technology work at the National Park Service a few years ago, and is excited to stage the special event.

“Collected revenue excluding the cost will be donated to the tribes,” Zakikhani told the Georgetowner. “There will also be genuine native offering of arts and craft to purchase which will help to increase the donation for the cause.”

The cost of the unique dinner is $35 per person. Price includes the full courses, special wine, beverages and tax. Seating will begin 7 p.m. with dinner soon thereafter. Entertainment will include drummers performing through the night. Due to limited sitting, reservations are required. The dinner may already be sold out. Call 202-450-3320 for more information.

Below are some details of the menu as well as information about the tribes, as provided by Gtown Bites:

= American Indian Fry Bread, a deep fried native bread served at meals;

= American Indian Skillet Bread, a dry cooked bread cooked in a skillet served at meals;

= Kiowa Indian Tacos, a base of fried bread with taco dressings (a national favorite among Kiowas and other tribes in Oklahoma);

= Pawnee Corn Soup, buffalo soup cooked with dried corn from Pawnees in the Central Plains;

= Iroquois Corn Soup, a soup of New England natives consisting of beans and corn;

= Steam Fry, buffalo cooked to tenderness in a gravy cooked by many tribes;

= Lakota Wojape, a mixed berry dessert served following menus of the Lakota people in the areas of North and South Dakota.

= Beverages and wine will be served throughout the dinner.

The Pawnees and Kiowas were originally located in what would become the north Central Plains states, from Nebraska to the Canadian  border. To further develop the West to reach California with the locomotive and during the Gold Rush, the U.S. government fought and later removed the Pawnees and the Kiowas to Oklahoma, where they remain today. Many other tribes received the same treatment. Oklahoma is home to almost 40 federally recognized Indian tribes. Today, these tribes function under their own sovereign governments with the United States as authorized by treaties signed by their ancestors.

Gtown Bites, which has provided lunches for the Georgetown Senior Center at St. John’s Church and coffee and sweets for the cat cafe, Crumbs & Whiskers, is located at 3206 O St. NW.