Chef Crystal Wahpepah, a registered member of the Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma, has long been a warrior for food sovereignty. She is the creative tour de force behind the inventive, healthy, and delicions dishes served at her restaurant, Wahpepah’s Kitchen, in Oakland, California. It is the first Native woman-owned restaurant in Northern California.

Crystal understands the deep and powerful role that food has in our lives and uses it as a bridge to connect others with Native issues that are important to her and Wahpepah’s Kitchen. By acknowledging the Indigenous inhabitants of the land upon which we currently live, she acknowledges and reclaims Native food ways. Through this connection, Crystal is then able to educate others on the health benefits of Indigenous foods through the knowledge that has been passed to her.

Crystal has been inducted to the Native American Almanac for her work. She has appeared on Food Network’s Chopped and was a James Beard Award finalist for Emerging Chef in 2022. Wahpepah’s Kitchen was the best new restaurant of the Bay Area in 2022. Crystal has cooked for the White House Hunger Conference with the James Beard Foundation and for the Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences.