High School Student Uses Native American Recipe to Win Science Fair — Proves It Kills Cancer Cells (in Lab Tests)

Our ancestors passed down traditions and cultures that we often disregard, mostly because they might not suit our current needs and values in the modern world. However, they are still knowledge obtained through hundreds of generations living and experiencing the world closely with nature.

Sometimes, these ancient ways hold the key to solving problems that modern technology and science have not figured out yet. This is one of those stories where a high school student won her science fair by making use of a traditional native American recipe that might hold the key to something as powerful as killing cancer cells.

Image Credits: ICT News

What Did the Student Discover?

Destany “Sky” Pete, a high school student from the Shoshone and Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in Idaho and Nevada, found out that her tradition holds a recipe for chokecherry pudding that could kill cancer cells in vitro.

As part of her science fair project, Sky tested this theory and concluded that it had significant effects on uterine sarcoma cancer cells. Working together with a professional with experience, Dr. Ken Cornell, a biochemistry professor at Boise State University, Sky tested four different ways to prepare the recipe of chokecherry.

The results are clear: only one out of those 4 ways to prepare the chokecherry recipe had successfully inhibited the growth of cancer cells within 24 hours, and that is the traditional pudding recipe of the Native Americans.

Read more: ICT News

Why Are the Seeds Important?

The main difference between the recipe that worked to the ones that didn’t was the inclusion of crushed chokecherry seeds in the traditional pudding. Modern recipes often disregard the seeds for various reasons, like their taste and texture, however, traditional recipes retain them.

Sky’s findings led her to believe that compounds within the seeds may have the biggest effect among all the ingredients for the cancer-inhibiting properties that she was able to observe. This highlights the potential medicinal value and insights that traditional ways can provide to modern science, after all, they are a collection of our ancestors’ wisdom and experiences.

Read more: Green Living Tribe

Recognition and Impact

Sky’s monumental project and ingenuity earned her the First Grand Prize at the 2017 Elko County Science Fair in Nevada, beating all 440 other competitors. The success she found led other scientists to test out this theory, and other traditional recipes that might give them clues to solve other modern science and medicinal problems.

At the end, she expressed her pride in her heritage as well as her opinion about our ancestors being healthier thanks to the food they consumed and the traditional practices that were passed down to them, which we of the modern generation often ignore.

The Ancient Tribes That Settled the Americas | First Peoples | Full Episode 1 | PBS

Author's Final Thoughts

This is an example of stories that tell us not to ignore any knowledge that was proven by the real-life experiences of hundreds of generations of our ancestors. That modern science can work together with traditional knowledge, and this should serve as a reminder to us all how important it is to preserve ancestral practices, wisdom and the cultures they came from. Because sometimes, the answers we’re looking for have been with us all along.

Read more: Scientist Says Octopuses Could Take Over the World If Humans Disappeared

Disclaimer:
This article is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice or make health claims. It highlights the value of traditional knowledge and how it can inspire scientific exploration, not replace professional medical advice or treatment.