By restaurantbusinessonline.com | Heather Lalley
Illustration by: Nico Heins/Midjourney
Excerpt:
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For Minneapolis-based Chef Sean Sherman, owner of Owamni and a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe, solutions lie in returning to indigenous food systems.
Sherman, widely known as the Sioux Chef, recently earned a spot on the Climate 100 list published by the U.K.-based newspaper The Independent for his work to “source local, wild and heirloom ingredients and follow the sustainable practices that Indigenous communities have used for generations.”
Colonizers devastated the land through logging, mining and other destructive practices. Sherman is working to counteract that by educating people about indigenous foodways that are more sustainable.
“It’s important to understand that, as we kind of crawl into some really devastating climate change issues and are facing major things like water crisis here in the United States, that strengthening our local food systems is really a must for us, especially from a restaurateur point of view, but just as a human in general,” Sherman said. “If we look at it from an indigenous lens, we can understand how to better utilize the landscapes around us and understand how we should be protecting a lot of our natural resources instead of endangering them.”
These are huge issues, to be sure, but Sherman is addressing them with a local approach.
Owamni, which comes from the Dakota word for turbulent water, whirlpool or eddy, is part of Sherman’s nonprofit organization North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), which works to create a food system that “generates wealth and improves health” in Native communities. The operation includes the Indigenous Food Lab in Minneapolis, with a retail space to sell indigenous products like maple syrup, wild rice, frozen meals, housemade tortillas, as well as a hot bar, tea bar, commercial kitchen and education studio.
“It’s one thing if I give somebody two pounds of dried corn, but will they know what to do with it in their home?” he said.
His award-winning restaurant (named the best new restaurant of 2022 by the James Beard Foundation among other accolades), with Saturday dinner reservations booked out for about a month, is the engine for Sherman’s broader vision. Owmani serves intensely regional and seasonal dishes, focusing on ingredients like wild rice, sweet potatoes, bison and elk.
“Our restaurant does very well,” Sherman said. “We make quite a bit of sales throughout the year. A big chunk of that is food costs, and a big chunk of that food cost is being spent directly on indigenous producers … Owamni really serves a purpose. It creates skill sets of hiring. We have 100 people working at Owamni throughout the year, and about 70% of our staff is identifying as indigenous. Because of our intentionality of purchasing from indigenous producers, we’re just moving a ton of money towards indigenous producers.”
For his next act, Sherman is looking at replicating his operation around the country, starting in Bozeman, Montana, and Anchorage, and expanding from there.
“There’s no purpose to live in fear,” Sherman said. “So, the best thing we can do is at least try to make the next generation stronger.”
Making the case on Capitol Hill
Individual operators like Sherman, and larger restaurant chains, can no doubt have an impact on climate change and related issues.
But lobbying elected officials for systems change is the most effective way to make process on these global issues, experts agree.
The James Beard Foundation launched its Climate Solutions for Restaurant Survival campaign early this year to mobilize restaurant owners to push their representatives in D.C. to slow the impacts of climate change.
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