How to Be a Better Human How to Eat with Awareness and Purpose (w/ Sean Sherman)
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Nov 24, 2025 Sean Sherman, Sioux chef and founder of Natives, shares his mission to reclaim Indigenous food sovereignty through his award-winning restaurant, Owamni. He discusses the removal of colonial ingredients and highlights the importance of local, seasonal foods. Sean explores the educational gaps in understanding Indigenous diets and emphasizes food as a means of storytelling and cultural preservation. He advocates for the empowerment of tribes through food sovereignty and reflects on the resurgence of Native representation in food and culture.
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Restaurant Scarcity Reflects Historical Erasure
- The absence of Native restaurants reflects deliberate historical erasure and ongoing structural marginalization.
- Colonial policies, boarding schools, and poverty explain why indigenous cuisines were pushed out of the mainstream.
Pursue Food Sovereignty Locally
- Pursue food sovereignty: grow, harvest, preserve, and distribute food within tribal communities.
- Regaining control over food systems strengthens community health, economy, and cultural survival.
Growing Up On Commodity Food
- Sean Sherman recalls growing up on Pine Ridge eating commodity and USDA program foods like canned goods and powdered milk.
- These childhood experiences shaped his mission to replace processed staples with traditional, nourishing ingredients.
