WASHINGTON, D.C.-The James Beard Foundation (JBF) has announced that Sean Sherman, a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota and founder/CEO of The Sioux Chef, is one of five to receive their prestigious award, to receive a Leadership Award for his work in helping Native Americans reclaim historic food and agricultural systems.
Sherman focuses on the revitalization and awareness of Indigenous food systems in a modern culinary context, a mission which led him to create the company The Sioux Chef in 2014. Sherman has studied extensively to determine the foundations of these food systems which include the knowledge of Native American farming techniques, wild food usage and harvesting, land stewardship, food preservation, regional diversity, Native American migrational histories, along with Indigenous culture and history in general to gain a full understanding of bringing back a sense of Native American cuisine to today's world. In 2018, Sean co-founded the nonprofit NATIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems), which this year is in the process of opening a not-for-profit Indigenous restaurant and training center called Indigenous Food Lab. His vision is to open Indigenous Food Labs in cities across North America with the focus of helping regional Indigenous communities to develop healthy, community-based indigenous food businesses, to help bring much needed economic opportunities, influence healthy, culturally appropriate diets, and re-identifying true cuisines of the Americas. In 2018, his book The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen won the James Beard Award for best book in the American category.
Beard awards, which Time magazine has dubbed "the Oscars" of the American food industry, are given out annually in a number of categories; the 2019 Leadership Award celebrates food system visionaries and acknowledges Sherman's extensive research into diverse Native American farming techniques, wild food usage and harvesting, land stewardship, food preservation, as well as tribal cultures and histories.
