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- By Native News Online Staff
Internationally acclaimed Indigenous chef Sean Sherman (Lakota)—winner of the Julia Child and James Beard awards and founder of the award-winning restaurant Owamni—will visit Bozeman from April 24–26 to announce the city as the first expansion site of his groundbreaking Indigenous Food Lab concept called IFL Bozeman.
Set to open in late 2025 or early 2026, IFL Bozeman will be the first expansion site of the Indigenous Food Lab (IFL) model developed by NATIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems), the nonprofit founded by Sherman.
Following in the footsteps of the original Indigenous Food Lab in Minneapolis, the Bozeman location will serve as a nonprofit educational kitchen and training center dedicated to revitalizing and supporting Indigenous food systems. It will also function as a hub for large-scale meal preparation, providing culturally rooted, nutritious food to institutions like schools, hospitals, and community centers.
In the long term, IFL Bozeman will anchor a restaurant concept grounded in the pre-colonial foodways of the Blackfeet Nation, Buffalo Nation, and the Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and Kootenai tribes. The restaurant will highlight regional ingredients and showcase traditional techniques and flavors drawn from local Indigenous cultures.
This expansion is part of a broader vision to create a nationwide network of Indigenous Food Labs—centers that not only train Indigenous culinary professionals and support Indigenous food producers but also offer a healthier, culturally meaningful alternative to mainstream food systems, rooted in respect for land and heritage.
The IFL Bozeman project is being supported by Montana State University’s Department of Native American Studies, the Buffalo Nations Food System Initiative, and the Piikani Lodge Health Institute (PLHI).
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