OUT OF THE FRYING PAN

INDIAN FRY BREAD IS A MAINSTAY AT STREET FAIRS, FESTIVALS AND POWWOWS. TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, IT'S SWEET AND DELICIOUS, BUT TO THE NAVAJOS, IT'S A REMINDER OF THE PAIN AND SUFFER-ING THEIR ANCESTORS ONCE ENDURED.

Volumes of smoke curl into the early morning sky as the sun glistens from behind a curtain of billowy clouds, causing shadows to dance across the whitewashed walls of Mission San Xavier del Bac. Nearby, in an adjacent dirt lot, a half-dozen Tohono O'odham families prepare Indian fry bread in oversized cast-iron skillets over open flames. They're using the same recipe their ancestors handed down to them generations ago. The process remains largely unchanged. Few visitors to the Spanish-Catholic mission, which is located on the Tohono O'odham Reservation about 10 miles south of Tucson, understand the role that Indian fry bread plays in Native American history. The only thing the masses know about the deep-fried delicacy is how they like it prepared: either as a savory snack topped with chili, beans and cheese, or as a dessert dusted with powdered sugar and a dollop of honey.