INDIGENOUS FOOD IN MINNEAPOLIS
Indigenous food has grown in popularity in the restaurant world, including a few places in Minneapolis, which is the birthplace of the American Indian Movement. Most notable is Owamni by the Sioux Chef, the 2022 James Beard Best New Restaurant national award-winning restaurant that features de-colonized foods, free of ingredients such as wheat flour, cane sugar and dairy, as well as pork, beef and chicken.
Indigenous Food Lab in Midtown Global Market is a professional Indigenous kitchen and training center. It includes the Spirit Kitchen eatery, which offers drinks, such as herbal tea and chaga latte, and foods like choginyapi, a corn sandwich, and bison birria. Alongside the eatery is a market that sells products from Indigenous vendors, such as coffee, wild rice and non-GMO corn.
Gatherings Café in the newly renovated Minneapolis American Indian Center (reopens to the public May 1 after a $32.5 million expansion) serves fresh, locally grown and healthy Indigenous foods. The center celebrates, supports and preserves American Indian cultural traditions through art and youth and inter-generational programs. Visitors can enjoy the Two Rivers gallery, shop in Woodland Crafts and check out community events.
Minneapolis has a number of Indigenous businesses, art and events. Discover other diverse foods in Minneapolis here.