The city of Minneapolis is anxiously
anticipating the opening of The Sioux Chef’s first venue: Tatanka
Truck.
Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota) made waves
over the last year by introducing his unique approach to Indigenous
cuisine. Born and raised on the Pine Ridge reservation in South
Dakota, he attended college at Black Hills State University. Part of
his drive to create an Indigenous cuisine, free of processed sugars,
dairy or flour, came from just being a chef in Minneapolis since the
early 2000s,
“I had been cooking since I was 13 in
the Black Hills, in tourist restaurants. And I thought It was silly
that there was no Native restaurants,” Sherman said. “There were
fusion recipes like buffalo burgers, wild rice risotto and pumpkin
cake,” but nothing truly spoke to traditional Native food.
Sherman’s approach has also been
respectful of the regional culture of the Ojibwe and Dakota people
and will be reflected in the offerings of Tatanka Truck. “I’ve
been surrounding myself with awesome foods and learned how people
were preserving things. I learned about the ancestral food cache. For
us around here, there’s lots of wild rice, corn products and all
the produce that people were growing in the region. The meats are
easy. We’re serving bison, turkey, duck, walleye, smoked lake fish
and on occasion, rabbit.”
Sherman’s efforts are a result of his
work with Little Earth of United Tribes. After he signed on as a
consultant, community officials such as Robert Lilligren (White
Earth) and Nathan Ratner have helped him to begin his work at serving
Native dishes while being a driving force for the urban Indian
community. “The biggest thing is that this is going to be for the
community, to show them that we have really healthy, interesting
foods. We’re looking to hire Native people from across the
community,” Sherman said.
His team also includes Dana Thompson,
who helps with his business strategy and Christine Werner,
responsible for the food management for Tatanka Truck.
The food truck has been secured and now
Sherman, Little Earth and the rest of the team await licensing from
the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The menu is being finalized
and features products from locally-sourced vendors like the Red Lake
Fishery, Dream of Wild Health and Wozupi Tribal Gardens.
For more information on Tatanka Truck,
including its schedule for the summer, visit www.tatankatruck.com or
visit their social media pages on Facebook and Twitter.
