People have been cooking in North America for more than 10,000 years. But the food from the continent changed after Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. One top chef works to show the flavors of his native land. He uses only ingredients found in North America before 1492.
Sean Sherman is a member of the Oglala Lakota tribe. The Indigenous chef grew up on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. Today, he runs a restaurant in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Sherman stepped out from the kitchen to tell News-O-Matic (NOM) how cooking traditional foods connects to his culture.
NOM: What Indigenous foods did you eat in South Dakota?
Sherman: I ate lots of bison, great turnips called Timpsula, and chokecherries. But all these tribes out there have a lot of
.
NOM: Why is it important to use only Indigenous foods?
Sherman: We had to identify our true North American foods. It becomes a statement of what’s possible using foods in this landscape. We need to separate from Europe in the
world.
NOM: What can foods teach us about history?
Sherman: You can understand a lot about where cultures are coming from. Think about the different foods when you try Ethiopian, Vietnamese, Japanese, or Mexican food. It really helps tell the story. Indigenous foods of North America have been largely replaced with European diets. It’s important to bring those foods back — and the knowledge of those foods. They just tell a more true story about North America.
NOM: Why did you decide to become a chef?
Sherman: I grew up working in restaurants and progressed into becoming a chef. I worked hard and was a fast learner, and I worked my way up. I didn’t go to school for this. I just needed a way to make a living, and I became really good at it.
NOM: What is the best part of being a chef?
Sherman: I love being around food. I love experimenting with it. Cooking is a good skill to have, whether you do it for a job or not.
NOM: What’s the hardest part of the job?
Sherman: Foods are getting more expensive. And running restaurants is really expensive too. So, there are always challenges.
NOM: What did it mean to win the James Beard and Julia Child awards?
Sherman: Those awards bring a lot of attention. I try to
that to showcase our work and help bring Indigenous foods into the conversation. Hopefully, it helps open doors for other people in the same field.
NOM: What’s your favorite meal to make?
Sherman: Tacos — because I like simple food. And I think Mexican food is a great representation of Indigenous foods in North America.
NOM: What do you hope students learn about Native American heritage?
Sherman: It’s important to look at history through other perspectives besides that of the
— particularly the U.S. government. Read books from an Indigenous perspective and see history through different mindsets.
NOM: What inspires you as a chef?
Sherman: I enjoy telling stories through food. And I enjoy this opportunity to do something that could help change the way things were when I grew up. It’s inspiring to see some of this hard work take hold and change how people talk about North American foods. We’re starting to get healthy foods to areas that really need it — especially our Indigenous communities.
Updated November 28, 2023, 5:02 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
