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- By Neely Bardwell
On this week’s Native Bidaské (Spotlight), Chef Sean Sherman joined Native News Online staff for a discussion about his work in revitalizing Indigenous food systems as a Native chef, as well as the harmful legacy of residential and Indian boarding schools.
Sherman is nationally and internationally renowned in the Indigenous food culinary movements. He is a citizen of the Oglala Lakota Tribe and was born and raised in Pine Ridge, South Dakota.
His first cookbook, The Sioux Chef’s Indiegnous Kitchen received the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook.
In 2021, Sean Sherman and his business partner Dana Thompson opened Owamni by the Sioux Chef, Minnesota’s first full service Indigenous restaurant.
Sherman’s primary focus is revitalizing Indigenous food systems by encouraging the decolonization of our diet and the ingredients we use in our cooking.
“We don't have to recreate the past, but it's important to start by identifying what are our modern Indigenous food items and creating a modern Indigenous pantry, and then adding creativity,” he said.
Watch the whole interview here.
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