On Monday, Nov. 9, American Indian Night at Minnesota State Mankato features Chef Sean Sherman, an Oglala Lakota originally from Pine Ridge, S.D., founder of the Sioux Chef company. Over the past three decades, Sherman had achieved national and world recognition for his culinary style that uses indigenous foods.
The virtual program is free. Register here to join.
Megan Heutmaker, director of American Indians Affairs at Minnesota State Mankato, shares reasons why students should participate.
Is it open to the public?
MEGAN: Yes! Which is the great thing about virtual events! Anyone is welcome to attend and participate in these virtual events from the comfort of their own homes.
Why should students attend the event and what should they expect?
MEGAN: The event guest speaker, Chef Sean Sherman, is a James Beard award winning chef with his own cookbook published that will be speaking about the importance of indigenous foodways and reconnecting with traditional foods from the Midwest American Indian culture.
What are the challenges of organizing such a culturally important event given the restrictions that COVID presents?
MEGAN: There were a lot of challenges as COVID doesn’t allow for our usual large scale event in the evening that we’ve had in previous years. But we were still eager and now very excited to be offering this virtual keynote speaker which is a portion of the annual American Indian Night event each year.
Do you have any suggestions for anyone who wants to attend?
MEGAN: Sign up and join us at this event. Chef Sean Sherman has become a leader in indigenous dining and has a restaurant that just opened recently in the Twin Cities. There have been many news features about him and his work. https://www.google.com/search?q=sean+sherman&client=firefox-b-1-d&sxsrf=ALeKk01Uu9xUwQweZ7Bl5AYaw-KhDFf6jw:1603394434653&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjG69jd9cjsAhWIZs0KHSGQBAEQ_AUoAXoECB8QAw&biw=1536&bih=750
He’s been featured on MPR, in the Star Tribune and more broadly in the New York Times and won the James Beard award for Best American Cookbook.
Is there any background story that Chef Sean Sherman would like to share before the event regarding his background and what lead him to revitalize Native American Cuisine?
His bio on his website tells you a bit more about him – https://sioux-chef.com/about/
Another great article of his work – https://www.kare11.com/article/news/local/breaking-the-news/indigenous-food-lab-finds-home-at-midtown-global-market/89-88b9c2b4-4cfc-4945-9d0f-b186e1c6218f
