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00:00I've always wanted to go to Minnesota.
00:21I've heard amazing things about the Twin Cities,
00:25but it was nothing like I thought it would be.
00:30To be continued...
01:00I'm Ruth Ann Thorne.
01:21I'm a tribal member at the Ringcom Band of Luceño Indians.
01:25I'm a card-carrying Indian, but like most natives,
01:28I'm ignorant to all of the other native tribes across the United States.
01:32So I'm starting this journey to learn about them,
01:35to go into cities and reservations,
01:37and why not start here in Minneapolis, Minnesota?
01:40So join me as we check out the Indians here in Minnesota.
01:49We're heading to the Native American Center here in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
01:53It's a real treat because there's not native centers in every city,
01:57and we're going to the kitchen of Chef Brian Yazzie,
02:01who has an impeccable reputation across Indian country.
02:05Brian is from another tribe, and he fell in love,
02:08and now he is heading up the kitchen.
02:10So let's go check it out.
02:12I grew up on the reservation in Phoenix, Arizona.
02:19You know, so it's a bit of a cultural shock and a bit of a story for me to where I'm at now,
02:25you know, because I was shared at Cook and saved my life.
02:28You know, without a father figure, I found my, those type of philosophies in the streets, if you may.
02:34Right? So just at an early age, you know, just learning how to steal car stereos,
02:38taking cars to chop shops, right?
02:40Getting stabbed and getting shot at.
02:42So that's the lifestyle I live at an early age, my early 20s.
02:45You know, and then having conversations with my siblings, with my sisters, right?
02:49Having a phone call, you know, saying that they missed my cooking,
02:52but that was their way of checking on me to see how I was doing out in the streets, right?
02:56So all through high school, you know, I was just being gone for days at a time, right?
03:01So, and then that's where I came up with the philosophy and the term cooking saved my life.
03:05You know, and just sharing that with the Native youth today, you know,
03:08just letting them know that, you know, I did live that lifestyle.
03:11You know, I moved out of the house when I was 14.
03:13And as you know, like being on the reservations, way back then, and even now,
03:19I mean, depending on what res you're from, there weren't a lot of opportunities
03:23and at least there weren't really a lot of role models to look towards.
03:27Not meaning there weren't good people.
03:29You know, my aunties were incredible, my dad, but there were issues.
03:33There were problems.
03:34And so I moved out of the house at 14 and became a drug runner.
03:38So I used to bring cocaine up from the border at 14, 15, 16.
03:44And because what are you going to do if you're out of school and you've got to make it?
03:48Yeah.
03:49So I always say, you know, art saved my life.
03:51There you go.
03:52And so cooking saved yours.
03:53Yeah.
03:54And ultimately, I think our ancestors saved our lives.
03:57You're not making Native culture exclusive, meaning that it's just for Natives.
04:08You're doing what we always did as Native people.
04:11We're sharing.
04:12Yeah.
04:13And very hospitable.
04:14I always tell people that's what got us into this mess.
04:17Yeah.
04:18Yeah, for sure.
04:19We invited everybody over for turkey dinner.
04:20Yeah.
04:21So this was a problem.
04:22I mean, everybody loves to eat, right?
04:23Right.
04:24And for me, the way I grew up was my mom, you know, she would say, when you're at a table, you're unity, you're a community.
04:29That's it.
04:30Whatever happens before and after being at a table, it's, you know, your personal matter.
04:34You know, and that's something I always kept with me.
04:36You know, here, whatever kitchens I work in, you know, you won't see me yelling, tossing a pan or talking down on any cooks or any dishwashers, right?
04:45Because the way I was taught with my mom and my aunties was whatever energy that you put into the food is what you give out to the people you're serving.
04:53I loved Brian Yazzie because we're cut from the same cloth.
05:10We both have gone through difficulty, but Native people are super resilient.
05:14And now we're going to Pow Wow Coffee, owned and operated by Natives.
05:19It's amazing to come to Minnesota and see a entrepreneur making coffee, Pow Wow Coffee.
05:32And a lot of people don't know that Pow Wows came from us as Native people getting pulled off our land.
05:38And Pow Wow means gathering place, so that's where we gathered.
05:41And our next stop is going to be to a musician that has been inspired by what is known as the Pow Wow Drum.
05:48That drum is something that dates back thousands of years.
05:52And the beat has been the inspiration of our people because it comes back to that primal heartbeat of who we are.
06:00I met with Native musician Colin Minetti, who hasn't forgotten the roots of his heritage and has a passion and love for the blues.
06:11I think a lot of us, you know, would just even with rock and roll and the roots of rock and roll, it's indigenous.
06:37Yeah, the rhythm is deep, you know, for me.
06:41And it comes from the Pow Wow Drum, you know, because I grew up hearing that.
06:45My dad was a singer and a drummer.
06:48So I heard that ever since I was in the womb.
06:51And I think that's a big part of, to me, like the rhythm is the heartbeat, you know.
06:56Just all of the music that I do is kind of goes back to where I come from, you know, so.
07:01Dayton's luxury department store opened in 1902 and was off limits to Native Americans.
07:29It was a white store for white people residing on Native land.
07:37Now, in a movement across Indian country called Land Back, new opportunities are happening.
07:43This is like Land Back right here, seriously.
07:49Oh, totally.
07:50We had an opportunity as Native Americans here in Minnesota to do this.
07:54So this is a Land Back.
07:56We have the nicest space in this gallery and there's 20 other artists here, but this is the only Native one.
08:04This space in 1911 would not welcome Native Americans.
08:09Let's get real, right?
08:10Well, yeah.
08:11And if you had something, even if it did welcome Native Americans into a high-end department store, who had the money to buy anything?
08:18If you were Native, you probably weren't going to be let through those rotating doors to begin with, with the beautiful grass around them.
08:26Even in the 90s, we had Minneapolis police throwing Native Americans in the trunk of their police car.
08:31So this is like early history and we're really breaking down the door here.
08:38Native Roots Trading Post is a modern-day version of what it was like back in the day when Native people were creating and selling to traders from all over the world.
08:53One thing to note about Native people is we normally have four, maybe five side hustles.
09:00Misko Chapman, who works at the Native Roots Trading Post, is no different.
09:05She is a talented dancer, TikTok influencer, beater, and young entrepreneur.
09:11So the jingle dress dance originates from the Anishinaabe tribes.
09:29Essentially, it's a healing dance, and so when you hear the jingles as I'm dancing, it kind of sounds like rain.
09:36And you know, water is very healing. We do have like our modern saying, like water is life.
09:41And so that dance is a very healing dance.
09:44And then the fancy shawl dance, the outfit that I'm in right now, it's a more contemporary style of dance.
09:50It came about in the 1960s, and it's because, you know, us women, we wanted to dance free, like some of the men's styles of dance.
09:58And then, you know, it's the most contemporary style of dance, so it's more flashy.
10:04Our moves are like kicking, you have to be on your toes, whatever you do on one side, you do on the other.
10:10And then it's supposed to resemble like a butterfly.
10:12Okay. It's a workout.
10:14Yes, definitely a workout.
10:16Because I saw you, and I was like, whew. I was getting tired just watching you.
10:20So when I first started dancing, which was four years ago, I was like, man, I'm 17, and I can't afford a new outfit,
10:26or I can't pay someone to make it, so I was just like, I'm just going to make it myself.
10:30That's so wonderful, and I'm so proud of you. I feel like I'm your auntie.
10:34You're like, yeah, go, go, go, keep doing that.
10:38The Trading Post has lots of merchandise for Native creators.
10:43T-shirts, beadwork, posters with activist sayings like, resist and land back.
10:50I met with Native photographer Joseph Allen that shows his work at the Trading Post.
10:56He's utilizing his lens to capture what's important to him as a Native Indigenous person.
11:02And he's telling a story about the history of the land and what happened to his people.
11:07You know, they talk about Indigenous erasure, you know, and we've always, you know, that's the other thing is like, people don't know the history here.
11:16We are, this is Dakota land, and Minnesota, Makoche, and you know, all the words, you know, all of the cities around here have Dakota words, you know, are from Dakota words.
11:29Mini is water, and, you know, there's Mini Tonka, and, you know, there's all these words here that we just don't know.
11:38And it's, you know, especially in Minnesota because of what happened with the Dakota War, you know, we were expelled, the Dakota people, and also the Ho-Chunk, you know, you know, they were expelled too.
11:51They had a reservation down by Mankato.
11:54And so, you know, our history and, you know, we're just this relic of the past, everybody sees it as the past.
12:03Right. Well, you're changing that, though.
12:05And I think a lot of artists are changing that.
12:07And I think that photography, art, sometimes you can tell a story through a visual that's really hard to say in words.
12:16And I think you're doing a beautiful job of that.
12:18Indian country has many creators, most working in a traditional manner.
12:28But every once in a while, you meet an artist that's coloring outside of the lines.
12:33When I think about this journey is, I think about that little boy who grew up on the White Earth Reservation, grew up in Natawash, and the small village of just a few people.
12:52And I remember I was the one that wanted to paint.
12:57And so that was really different.
12:59I've always wanted to paint.
13:00And I remember this little boy thinking, you know, someday, I wonder if I'll be able to go to a museum or a gallery and see real paintings.
13:12You know, and I remember thinking that when I was just a little boy and thinking, you know, I don't think I'm going to ever be able to do that living where I live.
13:21And I remember we were pretty poor.
13:25And I remember mixing sand, water, dirt.
13:32And that was my paint.
13:34And I would paint on the side of our old barn.
13:37And I know I could see the colors then.
13:41What's amazing for me today is, you know, that little boy who was painting on the side of the barn.
13:50Now I'm going to galleries and museums to see my work.
13:55So that's full circle.
13:58And I never thought that that was going to happen.
14:01So you're kind of a fashion designer then, too.
14:04Maybe, maybe.
14:06I didn't think that you'd be that when you were a little boy painting on the side of the barn.
14:10That's right.
14:11No, I would have never, never imagined that.
14:12Okay, let's see.
14:13So that's, that's yours.
14:14Oh, my gosh.
14:15I was going to say, if I try it on, it may never come off.
14:18But look at this.
14:19And that's the painting, right?
14:20That's your, right, you're standing right in front of that painting.
14:23That's called Du Bois Win, and that means truth in Ojibwe.
14:27As an artist, you have to be able to speak your truth.
14:33And when I was back painting those very standard landscapes, you know, my heart wasn't there.
14:43And so how do I, how do I honor my heritage, my Ojibwe heritage, this beautiful, this beautiful culture?
14:55How do I do that?
14:57How do I represent that?
15:00Maybe in a different way, a contemporary way.
15:03And, and realizing that the way I do that is honoring what's in, inside me and being on it and, and putting that on canvas, how I feel.
15:18That's the, that's the way I can honor my heritage.
15:32Time flies and I'm off to the highlight of the day.
15:35A meeting with James Beard award-winning chef, Sean Sherman, known as The Sous Chef, and his award-winning restaurant, Awamini.
15:44His primary focus is cooking with pre-colonization foods, such as wild rice, bison, and native indigenous plants.
15:53His restaurant, Awamini, is in such high demand, it currently has a one-year waiting list.
15:59It's kind of amazing when you're walking along this, this path and you're seeing Pillsbury factory and you're seeing these bridges and you can imagine that at one time this was all native land.
16:21And some of the, the richest tribes in America resided right here in this area known as Minnesota.
16:28Sean is probably one of the most well-known chefs here in Indian country.
16:33And what he's doing is taking traditional foods that are utilized here in Minnesota as from the Sioux Nation or Dakota.
16:43And he is bringing that into contemporary melting of cuisine.
16:49So let's check it out, see what we've got here.
16:51We have a different style of doing things, of course, because we really try to be intentional about how we decolonize our menu and so we cut out all colonial ingredients.
17:11So for us there's no dairy, no wheat flour, no cane sugar, no beef, pork, or chicken.
17:16And we're just really focused on purchasing foods from indigenous producers.
17:19We don't have any sodas or anything like that here, you know.
17:23So we just try to make everything from scratch and it's just been, it's been pretty, pretty, pretty amazing.
17:29So nothing that's coming in that government box that we used to get.
17:33Exactly, exactly. And just showcasing what's possible for modern indigenous food.
17:39You're not just involved with this incredible restaurant, which, by the way, you are like up for a James Beard award this year.
18:07You know, I think you're the first native chef that has ever really had even, you know, a chance.
18:14Yeah, I mean, this year we're up for two beard awards, one for best new restaurant in the U.S.
18:19and one for best chef of this region, particularly right here.
18:23And in the past I have had two beard awards already.
18:27So I got one for the cookbook in 2018 for best American cookbook.
18:31And then in 2019 I won a leadership award for the work at the nonprofit.
18:35Oh, that's wonderful. But this one is for your restaurant though.
18:38Yes, absolutely.
18:39So this is a little bit.
18:40Yeah. And it's, you know, this is obviously a huge team effort.
18:42We're very proud of everybody and all the hard work that everybody put into it.
18:45So it's been pretty amazing.
18:47And it's great for, I think, young chefs who are native to be able to point to you and say,
18:54oh, if this person can do it, I can do it.
18:57That's our hopes, you know, because I grew up on Pine Ridge and grew up on the Rez
19:01and we didn't have a lot of money growing up and a lot of the things.
19:04And then so it took a long time to get to this point.
19:06So we're hoping that we can just be role models
19:08and that we can help develop more indigenous food producers,
19:11whether they're chefs or caterers or food truck operators
19:14or just people getting food products up there on the market.
19:17When I had the epiphany to do this kind of work,
19:19I realized that I could probably name less than ten recipes that were Lakota
19:23that were more influenced by something else, you know.
19:26And I was teased that, like, I was looking for recipes that didn't have cream
19:29and mushroom soup in it, you know.
19:31So it was a long road to try and figure out all those pieces,
19:35but I spent quite a few years just researching.
19:37And, you know, we're a little bit strict because of how we've removed
19:40colonial ingredients with no dairy and flour and sugar especially.
19:43But, you know, there's so much creativity that we can utilize.
19:47And the food becomes extremely healthy.
19:49And we don't, you know, we're not touting ourselves as a health food restaurant,
19:52but this food is extremely healthy.
19:54Yeah, I think that's important too because of all the diabetes,
19:57everything that we face as Native people because we didn't, you know,
20:01when you give people things that are not healthy for them, unfortunately,
20:07you get a taste bud for that.
20:08Absolutely.
20:09And you've got to shift that.
20:10So it's not just a matter of re-educating people,
20:13but also re-educating the taste buds back to what we, you know, used to eat,
20:19which was incredibly healthy right off of the lambs.
20:21So you're taking this space back is really what's happened here, right?
20:25Because we just, 100 million people, I mean, I'm preaching to the choir here.
20:30And here we are, the smallest minority group, you know, left.
20:34And you're taking the culinary space back.
20:37And I'm interviewing people who are taking art and music and all of these things that we had,
20:44you know, as a culture of people who were buying and trading and creating things just like any other country.
20:51And now we're starting to be able to let people know that, you know, we weren't savages.
20:59Again, food is such a great way because people,
21:01it's the one thing that ties us together as humans.
21:03You know, we all need food to survive.
21:05And food is such a cultural identity.
21:07And we're at a point in time where, as Indigenous peoples,
21:10especially of these land spaces, that we can reclaim and re-identify what are our modern foods today.
21:16And we don't have to follow the colonial model that was set in front of us.
21:20We can really understand the teachings and learnings of our ancestors
21:24and start to bring that back and do it through this food.
21:27What I love about the sous chef, Sean Sherman, is that, like most natives,
21:33he wasn't born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
21:35But look at what he's done.
21:37He is really impacting Indian country and the whole world
21:41with bringing Indigenous cuisine into people's lives.
21:45I'm in awe of Minnesota.
21:50I've been able to experience urban life with the city Indians that are still here
21:55and creating in so many different ways.
21:58It just confirms my thoughts as a Native person
22:01that there are vast unique differences within Indian country.
22:05More culture, more art, more dance, more food.
22:08And there's so much more to explore in this country with the first people.
22:13Because no matter where we go in America, we're still on Native land.
22:18Georgia, Georgia, Georgia and Georgia, Georgia, Georgia, Virginia
22:27and Cal putting the same stuff as a low play in Ohio.
22:31You are also on Native land.
22:33Transcription by CastingWords
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