The Chef Bringing Native American Food to Your Table

(light piano music) - People need to understand that all of North America is indigenous land. It is Native land. (light piano music) People tend to forget that there was a vibrant Native culture living in all parts of North America. And food is really the piece that's going to help us move forward into a brighter future. (light piano music) My name is Sean Sherman and I am a chef. I own the company The Sioux Chef. So this is gonna be two pieces per plate for these. Our mission is revitalizing Native American foods and re-identifying North American cuisine. We've tried really hard to maintain authenticity by removing all of the colonial ingredients like dairy, wheat flour, processed sugar beef, pork, chicken and we're just using a lot of wild game a lot of the native agricultural heirloom varietals, a lot of the wild foods around us and really making those plates that taste like a region. Most of these ingredients are very familiar to people but the usage of a lot of the wild plants really talk about a place in a community. We prioritize purchasing from the indigenous vendors first because we really want to open up a lot of opportunity for indigenous people growing out farms or collecting things from the wild or raising animals. So for the big dinner we're actually cooking this bison down with a bunch of fresh cedar and some bergamot. We will purchase from anybody raising these indigenous pieces because it is such an important part of the landscape and the history. I know you want it. As we travel around the country we like to make dinners and foods that really represent those areas. What's great about being able to do these dinners especially in non-indigenous communities is just to bring awareness. This kind of food that we're eating today like, you're gonna feel really good when you leave here. You're not gonna feel heavy and weighted down. You're gonna feel energized and just happy because you're knowing where this food is coming from. We feel like anybody across North America will benefit from the understanding of the indigenous food systems around you. And it's all gonna help us move forward. (uplifting music)

Channel: Great Big Story

Views: 424,913

Rating: 4.9215484 out of 5

Keywords: great big story, gbs, lag, documentary, docs, Food & Drink, Biography & Profile, Native American, First Nations, Chef Sean Sherman, Sean Sherman, South Dakota, Pine Ridge Reservation, Sioux, Food, Natural food, Native cuisine, Native American cuisine, Minnesota, Minneapolis

Id: ocm6DRIF9oU

Length: 2min 46sec (166 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 21 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/[deleted]]

Now not to shit on this dude, but the one thing I'll say is you shouldn't eat sage or inhale the smoke like pipe style, cos it can cause liver damage in amounts higher than smoldering in a room

[u/SheppardsGirl]

I've actually had this guys food before, he made wild rice tamales at the falling water festival in mpls this summer, it was super good!