By Lee Egerstrom
In January announcements, the North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) nonprofit group and the Seward Community Co-op announced NATIFS has purchased the separate Co-op Creamery Building on Franklin Ave. in south Minneapolis.
The Creamery, as it is called in the area, was owned by the nearby community grocery co-op. It will become a working headquarters for NATIFS’ various operations.
Located at 2601 Franklin Ave. E., the building will be named NATIFS Wóyute Thipi, meaning “food building” in the Dakota language. The transformation is targeted for mid-summer.
When it reopens, NATIFS plans to have a new counter service restaurant, called ŠHOTÁ Indigenous BBQ by Owamni. It will also house a commissary kitchen to supply Indigenous foods to public groups, and will have space to assist other Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) businesses.
Sean Sherman (Oglala Sioux), a NATIFS founder and internationally noted Indigenous chef, and Ray Williams, general manager of the nearby Seward Community Co-op, announced the sale in statements issued on January 8, 2025.
Seward Community Co-op, 2823 E. Franklin Ave. has used the site for administrative offices and as a coffee shop since it purchased the building in 2013. Williams said in an announcement to co-op members in August that discussions were underway to sell the building to a buyer “deeply aligned with our values…”
The Seward co-op is a grocery open to the public but is owned by more than 2,400 family members in and around the Seward and Phillips neighborhoods in Minneapolis. Many customers and co-op members come from Native American homes and housing developments on and around Franklin Ave. area that is known as the American Indian Cultural Corridor.
Linkages between NATIFS and the co-op grocery and neighborhood were stressed in the announcements.
“It’s very exciting to welcome Sean Sherman and NATIFS Wóyute Thipi to East Franklin Avenue,” said Robert Lilligren, president and chief executive at Native American Community Development Institute (NACDI) at 1414 E. Franklin Ave.
NACDI is the promoter of the American Indian Cultural Corridor for Native Americans and tourists to enjoy cultural foods, arts and opportunities. The corridor is home to or surrounded by magnet organizations, including the Minneapolis American Indian Center, All My Relations Arts Gallery, Little Earth Housing Corp., American Indian Industrial Opportunities Center, Indian Health Board, and urban tribal offices.
They are all parts of one of the largest concentrations of urban American Indians in the United States.
Lilligren said Sherman’s work with Indigenous food “will enhance the strong Native presence on the American Indian Cultural Corridor.”
In his announcement, Sherman said NATIFS was “drawn to this location” because of his group’s needs and the cultural corridor.
“We are thrilled to expand in this new direction as we continue to uplift Indigenous food systems and support our community,” he said.
“”This will be the first space we own, and it will truly be the heart of everything we do.”
Meanwhile, NATIFS will continue operating its Indigenous Food Lab Market, education studio and production kitchen at Midtown Global Market at 920 E. Lake St., in Minneapolis, where the nonprofit organization’s headquarters is currently located.
NATIFS also owns Owamni Restaurant, 420 S. 1st St., in Minneapolis, more formally called Owamni Restaurant by the Sioux Chef. That made Sherman a James Beard award winning chef and Owamni named “Best New Restaurant” in the nation for Beard awards in 2022.
{Yes, it is a play on words. Sherman is a Sioux chef, a Lakota from the Pine Ridge. He is definitely not a French “sous chef,” or second in command in the kitchen.}
Looking ahead to opening ŠHOTÁ Indigenous BBQ by Owamni this summer, Sherman said it will be consistent with Owamni by prioritizing getting foods from Indigenous producers and eliminate use of “colonial” ingredients such as wheat flour, cane sugar and dairy products.
The name ŠHOTÁ means “smoke” or “clouds” in Dakota and is essentially the same word as “Sota” in the Dakota name Mni Sóta Makocea (“Land where the waters reflect the skies”), the Dakota name for Minnesota.
Food for dining, takeout, delivery and catering will include smoked meats, fish and vegetables. Indigenous side dishes will include maple-baked beans, dirty wild rice, house-made hominy, braised greens and corn mush. Some unique entrees will include smoked salmon with huckleberries, alligator gumbo, three sisters’ bison stew and walleye stew.
The commissary kitchen, meanwhile, will allow NATIFS to produce large scale and healthy Indigenous foods for institutions such as public schools, universities and hospitals.
“Many Indigenous communities face high rates of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other health issues due to a lack of access to traditional foods,” he said. Our goal is to provide a sustainable solution and improve overall health and well-being in these communities.”
The news release said ŠHOTÁ also plans to offer a drinks menu like at Owamni including beers and wines form BIPOC producers and teas and other beverages from Indigenous sources.
All this fits with the extremely diverse and welcoming community built around the Seward Community Co-op.
Williams, the general manager, said in his statement sent to co-op members that Seward and NATIFS have “partnered” over the year. Along with other local co-ops, he said, Seward had recently participated in a program that raised $139,000 for NATIFS.
Sherman served as the featured speaker at Seward’s 2018 annual membership meeting. “We have had the pleasure and honor of partnering over the years to uplift Native cultural and culinary traditions in a number of ways…,” Williams said.
He said NATIFS’ “mission is aligned with Seward Co-op and will provide food access to those in the community and surrounding areas. We warmly welcome Wóyute Thipi to the neighborhood!”
The south side of Minneapolis has a wild and wooly history that created diverse surrounding neighborhoods and led to creating the American Indian Cultural Corridor. All this fits with the artsy interests of the neighborhood.
Competing private dairy companies battled for control of the milk delivering business, and not all had kindly relations with workers and milk delivery employees. Workers organized and formed the Franklin Cooperative Creamery Association, an employee- owned firm like Seward Community Co-op is member-owned.
Back in the day before dairy products became basket items at supermarkets and convenience stores, Franklin Creamery Co-op became the largest milk delivering company in the Twin Cities.
To learn more, see: https://natifs.org
