DECOLONIZED INGREDIENTS
Experience the true flavors of North America, featuring foods of Mni Sota Makoce, Land Where the Waters Reflect the Clouds.
We prioritize purchasing from Indigenous food producers locally and nationally. We have removed colonial ingredients such as wheat flour, cane sugar and dairy. We are proud to present a decolonized dining experience.
PROMOTING INDIGENOUS FOODWAYS EDUCATION
YOU ARE ON NATIVE LAND
Our mission is to promote Indigenous foodways education and facilitate Indigenous food access.
Chef Sean Sherman is an award-winning chef, educator, author, and activist. A member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe, Sean’s personal mission is to revitalize Indigenous food systems and build awareness of the transformational potential of Indigenous foodways to restore the health, local economies, culture, and food sovereignty of Native people.
About Sean
Chef Sean Sherman has dedicated his career to supporting and promoting Indigenous food systems and Native food sovereignty.
Sean’s cooking style is based on pre-colonial Indigenous food systems, using only ingredients that are native to North America. His menus are inspired by the seasons and the land, featuring traditional ingredients like bison, hand-harvested wild rice, cedar, and sumac. He draws on the knowledge and culinary techniques of his ancestors to develop innovative, nutritious, and flavorful dishes that incorporate wild game, fish, foraged plants, and heirloom grains.
Through his activism and advocacy, Sean is helping to reclaim and celebrate the rich culinary heritage of Indigenous communities around the world.
PHOTO: NANCY BUNDT
“Our ancestors understood how to live in balance with the natural world. Indigenous foods are the original foods of this continent. It’s important we recognize that and start celebrating those foods.”
“Sean has had a major impact on revitalizing and revolutionizing Native cuisine in the U.S., including through his Minneapolis-based restaurant Owamni, which has expanded with the work of his nonprofit, North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems. He has galvanized a new generation of Indigenous chefs to honor their culinary heritage and to decolonize their diets.”
“Through his activism and advocacy, Sean is helping to reclaim and celebrate the rich culinary heritage of Indigenous communities around the world.”
PHOTO: SEAN SHERMAN
NĀTIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems) is a non-profit organization that works to revitalize Indigenous food systems across North America. We envision a food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises. NATIFS initiatives include the Indigenous Food Lab, advocacy and education, seed and knowledge sovereignty, and Indigenous foodways curriculum.
The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen
Here is real food—our indigenous American fruits and vegetables, the wild and foraged ingredients, game and fish. Locally sourced, seasonal, “clean” ingredients and nose-to-tail cooking are nothing new to Sean Sherman, the Oglala Lakota chef and founder of The Sioux Chef. In his breakout book, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, Sherman shares his approach to creating boldly seasoned foods that are vibrant, healthful, at once elegant and easy.
Indigenous Food Lab Market
High-quality Indigenous foods and products
The Indigenous Food Lab Market is a kitchen and retail space that offers high-quality Indigenous foods and products to our community. We work to broaden access to Native-made goods and allow people to experience contemporary Indigenous offerings while empowering entrepreneurs to expand their audience.
Updates
WORD OF MOUTH – Episode 69: The Sioux Chef – Sean Sherman from Owamni in Minneapolis
Sean Sherman is an activist and the chef at restaurant Owamni, Minneapolis. He is also an educator, an author and a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe. He was born and raised on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and as a teenager began working in restaurants and...
Sean Sherman’s upcoming Indigenous barbecue restaurant
By: James Norton Original article from Heavy TABLE “A culture without food is a lost culture. I think it’s extremely important to bring back some of this knowledge, this food, and to be able to serve it in a modern context that everyone can appreciate. ” - Chef Sean...
SEAN SHERMAN’S NONPROFIT ACQUIRES SEWARD CO-OP CREAMERY BUILDING
NATIFS Wóyute Thipi to Feature New Restaurant, Commissary Kitchen and More MINNEAPOLIS — January 8, 2025 — North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), the nonprofit founded by James Beard Award-winning chef Sean Sherman, has acquired the Seward Co-op...
Seeding a new food future
Words: Cinnamon JanzerMain image: Nate Ryan Original article from Imagine5.com The Sioux Chef Seeding a new food future As the Sioux Chef, Sean Sherman is out to prove that an Indigenous approach to growing and cooking food can better serve people and planet. From his...
It’s Time to Build More Native Restaurants
From venison chops to grape dumpling soup, Indigenous foods are central to the American heartland — if only we had more places to eat them by Sean Sherman and Mecca Bos Oct 1, 2024, 9:00am EDT Illustration by Morgan Thompson. This article was produced in...
Sean Sherman, Indigenous Food Activist and Award-winning Chef, Named to Inaugural ‘Climate 100 List’ by the Independent
MINNEAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Independent has named Sean Sherman, founder and executive director of non-profit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), award-winning chef of Owamni in Minneapolis and advocate for Indigenous foodways, to its inaugural Climate 100 List.
“We’re here to create a conversation about what Indigenous foods are and why they’re important.”