Sean Sherman is revitalizing Native American cuisine

Sean Sherman and his team at Owamni are trying to redefine what "local" means.

The James Beard Award for best new restaurant was won by Owamni by The Sioux Chef. The award details have been changed.

Sean Sherman wasn't a big fan of restaurants when he was a kid. He says that Pine Ridge had no restaurants when he was a kid. Only one grocery store was open. Sherman moved to Spearfish when he was 12 years old. He started washing dishes at a local restaurant. Sherman has always been a fan of restaurants.

Sherman has been in the food industry for more than 30 years and is currently a chef in Minneapolis. Around a decade ago, he had an idea about his work. While he could easily name hundreds of European recipes off the top of his head, Sherman realized he didn't know much about Lakota recipes. He found very few Native American restaurants and cookbooks when he searched.

Even though we are in America, in North America, and no matter where we are there, there are Indigenous peoples and history all over the place. I wanted to understand what true Indigenous food is and what it means in today's world.

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Revitalizing tradition 

Sherman began to reestablish his relationship with Indigenous foods and traditions. He spoke with his family and learned how to cook. Sherman and Dana Thompson became his business partners. The James Beard award winning cookbook was released by Sherman.

In July of last year, Sherman opened the restaurant Owamni by The Sioux Chef on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The James Beard Award for best new restaurant was won by the restaurant.

Thompson said that they aren't here to make a profit. To get these foods back into the mouths of people is our main goal. It's important. This is a huge labor of love.

A new definition of “locally sourced”

Owamni is an Indigenous-owned restaurant that serves Native or Native inspired cuisine. Both Sherman and Thompson agree that the lack of Indigenous restaurants can be traced to the traumatic history of colonization and injustice in North America, which has resulted in a loss of Native land and ancestral wealth.

Forced assimilation and genocide almost wiped out the culture. The fact that we have these foods here is an act of resistance. She says that their Owamni customers are doing more than just eating their food. They areliterally absorbing culture.

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There are no Native American cuisines. The menu at Owamni focuses on the Dakota tribe, which is based in the region. Cane sugar, wheat, dairy, beef, chicken, pork and other ingredients not originally from North America are avoided by the restaurant. Game, fish, birds and insects, wild plants and Native American heirloom farm varieties are some of the foods featured. Owamni tries to get ingredients from Indigenous and local food producers.

Not a single Coca-Cola in sight

The menu, which features modern interpretations and dishes of Indigenous foods, can be found on a variety of diet plans. The tasting menu at Owamni is $85 and includes venison tartare and bison tripe and oxtail soup. Owamni is probably one of the only restaurants in Minneapolis that doesn't have either Coca-Cola or Heinz condiments on the tables, according to Sherman.

He said that they try to pay homage to their Indigenous ancestors by identifying a lot of modern-day Indigenous ingredients and creating a new era of Indigenous food. All of the Indigenous foods are good for you because they are medicine for us.

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Since opening day, Owamni has been booked every evening. It has been recognized by the James Beard Awards as one of the best restaurants of the year. Sherman says it is not uncommon for customers to fly across the country to eat there. Some of Owamni's customers have a 4.5 star rating.

I don't think about where my food comes from. One reviewer said that eating at Owamni was both delightful and a reminder of what we owe to the Indigenous people.

One reviewer said that he was able to eat delicious food, leave full and happy and have energy after. Food should make us feel good. I tip my hat to you, as you are an inspiration.

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Around 80 people were hired when Owamni opened. The general manager of the restaurant is Kareen. Although he has worked in various restaurants for over a decade, Owamni offers him something new.

When I worked at a traditional Japanese restaurant, I was always amazed at the passion and respect the Japanese chefs had for their cuisine. "I feel connected to the food through my heritage at Owamni."

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Paying it forward

Sherman and Thompson formed North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems to increase access to and knowledge of Indigenous food. They want to create a new North American food system that creates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises. The Indigenous Food Lab is a kitchen and training center that covers everything from plant and food identification to how to run a kitchen based on Native traditions and foods.

The Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations ( FDPIR ), which provides food to income-eligible households, is one of the things NTIFS is working on. FDPIR foods, also known as commodity foods, include powdered milk, blocks of cheese and canned beef.

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Sherman said, "I'll never learn everything about Indigenous foods, but we're setting up structures and systems to be able to preserve it and maintain it." We envision eventually being able to drive across the US or anywhere in North America and having the option of Indigenous food businesses, to be able to experience the immense diversity and culture and language and stories and food.

The article was first published about two hours ago.