Amelia Schafer
ICT + Rapid City Journal
What began as a means of survival has turned into a labor of love.
Two Cheyenne River Lakota and Laotian sisters Mali Souksavath and Kahomy Weston are using their traditional and cultural knowledge to create unique dishes, combining hallmarks of both for their new business, Oyul Fusion-LaoKota Cuisine in Rapid City.
After spending time apart, the sisters came together in Rapid City and decided to put their degrees and experience in the food industry to work, making their own business, which is currently in its early stages with weekly pop-up food sales.
Because of Laos’ proximity to India and the spice trade, Laotian dishes are packed full of spice and flavor. The sisters combine these unique flavors with Lakota medicines and foods to create uniquely flavorful food.
Sticky rice with Lakota gabubu bread, ninja noodles, frybread balls, Čeyaka (wild mint) and more have become staples in their business, among other creative items. Another upcoming signature will be a sauce flight that highlights and embraces the different flavors of their dishes.
Growing up in Cherry Creek, Souksavath was one hour from the nearest grocery store. Taught by her grandmother, Souksavath quickly learned how to forage, butcher and cook using whatever she could get her hands on.
While also a means of survival, food is a way to come together as a community.
“Whenever we would come together (as a family) and visit each other, one of the things we would do is cook,” Weston said.
Both sisters are skilled foragers and butchers. Weston learned from her mother who she says can take down and clean a deer in just ten minutes. The sisters said that the food they’re making isn’t just food, it incorporates traditions and cultural teachings.
“It (the traditional ways) comes naturally. It’s not just a trend to us,” Souksavath said.
For not only the sisters but their family, these traditions have been passed down from generation to generation. Weston’s children are being taught different teachings about plants and medicines. Her four-year-old daughter knows when it’s chokecherry season and how to identify Thíŋpsiŋla (wild turnips).
One of the sisters’ goals is to create a brick-and-mortar restaurant for Oyul Fusion. This would make the business the only Laotian and Lakota sit-down restaurant in Rapid City and the city’s first Laotian restaurant.
“We’ve got a passion that we’re putting a fire under,” Souksavath said.
The sisters have a list of goals that they are on track to accomplish. Currently, the two are working on getting a food truck up and running. Another goal is to give back to the community. The two provide their food to the weekly Friday meals held by Oyáte kiŋ čhaŋtéwaštepi. These weekly meals, which have taken place at the Memorial Park Bandshell, provide homeless people in Rapid City with a warm, home-cooked meal.
Next on the horizon, Oyul Fusion will be vending at the August 12 car show and back-to-school supply giveaway outside of the Rushmore Mall. Later, they’ll be selling food at the Native American World Series on August 27.
Oyul Fusion also frequently hosts pop-up sales, which they announce on their Facebook page, Oyul Fusion – LaoKota Cuisine.
This story is co-published by the Rapid City Journal and ICT, a news partnership that covers Indigenous communities in the South Dakota area.
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