The power of ancestral foods is on display at Owamni, winner of the 2022 James Beard Award for best new restaurant in the country. Owners Sean Sherman (a.k.a. “The Sioux Chef”) and Dana Thompson have created a “de-colonized” menu that exclusively serves Native foods, from lake fish to rabbit to bison. There’s no wheat flour, cane sugar or dairy, as those ingredients were brought here by European settlers. The experience is part of a larger trend called “food sovereignty,” or the right of Native Americans to have culturally appropriate food, raised sustainably. We check out the restaurant, perched above the swirling waters of the Mississippi, and take a walk at a tribal community farm where many ingredients are sourced.
Listen to ‘Savoring Indigenous Cuisine’
In this podcast episode, we visit the award-winning Owamni Restaurant in Minneapolis, which serves up Native foods on its decolonized menu.
Listen to the Episode