Leda & Annie Isaac

Leda Isaac is a member of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and a dedicated keeper of family and community foodways. Through cooking and teaching, she carries forward traditional Choctaw knowledge and the values that connect food, family, culture, and community. For Leda, preparing traditional foods is more than a way of providing nourishment—it is an opportunity to remember, educate, and pass cultural knowledge from one generation to the next.

Leda’s approach to foodways reflects a longstanding Choctaw understanding that the preparation and sharing of food are deeply connected to cultural and spiritual life. Traditional foods and methods provide a tangible connection to the past while remaining meaningful in modern Choctaw life. In her family, cooking has become an important way to help preserve foods, customs, and knowledge that might otherwise be lost as generations encounter changing foodways and modern lifestyles.

Leda will be joined by her daughter, Annie, who studied culinary arts at East Central Community College and has previously joined her family in presenting Choctaw cooking traditions for audiences of all kinds. Leda and Annie will share traditional Choctaw cooking through a hands-on demonstration that highlights the ingredients, techniques, and stories behind foods that have long been part of Choctaw life, including corn, beans, field peas, and pork—all staples of the Choctaw diet. Together, mother and daughter demonstrate how foodways can serve as a living connection between generations.

Festivalgoers will have an opportunity to learn not only about traditional Choctaw foods, but also about the importance of preserving the knowledge and stories that accompany them. Through cooking and conversation, Leda and Annie invite audiences to experience food as an expression of family and cultural heritage.