Chef Sean Sherman Opens New Restaurant; Makoce Ikikcupi Hosts Arts Festival in Granite Falls

Transcript

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Marie Rock: You're listening to Minnesota Native News, I'm Marie Rock. This week, an award-winning Native restaurant changes its name and moves into a bigger space in Minneapolis, and the upcoming Dakota arts festival in Granite Falls.

First, reporter Travis Zimmerman caught up with Chef Sean Sherman, to hear about the opening of Indigena by Owamni, in the Guthrie Theater.

Travis Zimmerman: The Owamni restaurant recently changed its name and moved into the kitchen space at the Guthrie Theater. Sean Sherman, the mastermind behind the Native themed restaurant, shares with us how the sudden change came about.

Sean Sherman: We had no intention of leaving our last space, but we just, we'd already kind of outgrown that space as soon as we had opened those doors. Our lease was coming up and in the midst of that, this opportunity at the Guthrie just kind of came up and so, we deeply considered it. And for us, it just seemed like a nice evolution opportunity for us to be able to grow. And you know, Owamni had kind of created its own little legacy, and this restaurant was going to be different because we're going to be able to offer more entrees, more entrees, a larger expanded menu. We wanted to showcase that we were different, so we decided on a slight brand change. And so we are now calling it Indigena by Owamni, which is just the Spanish and Latin word for indigenous.

Travis Zimmerman: The restaurant is part of the Twin Cities-based North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, or NATIFS, which Sean is the Executive Director of.

Sean Sherman: This is just a part of our larger plan, we use the restaurant as a tool because it is job creation, which we're able to hire a ton of people, create a lot of jobs. And that builds a lot of skills and leaders. Because the nonprofit NATIFS, you know, we are working on ways to just normalizing Indigenous foods out there, working on ways to support Indigenous food production, working on ways to create more food access to Indigenous foods.

Travis Zimmerman: Sean is excited about the opportunities the restaurant will have in its new home.

Sean Sherman: We're now basically a 200-seat restaurant, and we can do some larger events and just be able to feed more people. The Guthrie is a massive building and it has a lot of spaces and there's workshops and shows and little conferences.

Travis Zimmerman: The restaurant had a soft opening in the middle of June but plans to expand their days and hours of operation.

Sean Sherman: We're closed on Mondays and we open every day at 11 and we stay open till 11 PM, except for Fridays and Saturdays where we're attempting to stay open till midnight. like this, and there's a lot of people living in this stretch of the city downtown.

Travis Zimmerman: For Minnesota Native News, I'm Travis Zimmerman.

Marie Rock: Next, reporter Deanna StandingCloud brings us a sneak peek of the upcoming Dakota Arts Festival in Granite Falls.

Deanna StandingCloud: On Saturday, July 11th, Zani Otunwe, a reclaimed site of Dakota culture and livelihood, will be open to the community during the 2026 Midsummer Art Festival in Granite Falls. Zani Otunwe, which means "the Village of Wellbeing" in Dakota, sits on 21 acres of land in the Minnesota River Valley.

Sisoka Duta: A lot of our Dakota people now don't even live in this area, even though historically there was many Dakota village sites up and down the Minnesota Mississippi River.

Deanna StandingCloud: Sisoka Duta or Joe Bendickson who is a citizen of the Fort Traverse reservation and a member of the Makoce Ikikcupi Governing Council, the organization that stewards Zani Otunwe and supports the recovery of homelands of the Oceti Sakowin.

Sisoka Duta: And so, teachings people the history of the Dakota people in this area, and our efforts to establish some of these communities for Dakota people to come back home and live here.

Deanna StandingCloud: Part of that teaching happens at events like the Midsummer Art Festival. This year, activities will include a plant walk, a Dakota language workshop, and a conversation with author and Makoce Ikikcupi Executive Director, Waziyata Win.

Sisoka Duta: We've been in the process of restoring the land since we purchased it.

Deanna StandingCloud: There are currently three earth lodges on site. Dakota people traditionally built and lived the domed dwellings.

Sisoka Duta: And I think Dakota people coming back and revitalizing their ways and being strong in who they are and their culture, that's going to be beneficial for everyone, not just Dakota people.

Deanna StandingCloud: Although Zani Otunwe is established as an exclusive site for the Oceti Sakowin to gather and connect to the land, every year, they welcome the community to visit.

Sisoka Duta: We want to be good neighbors, too. So we want people to come in and see what we're doing.

Deanna StandingCloud: Visit the Makoce Ikikcupi Facebook page for more info. For Minnesota Native News, I'm Deanna StandingCloud.

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Marie Rock: Minnesota Native News is produced by AMPERS Minnesota's community radio stations. Made possible by funding from the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.