Promoting Indigenous foodways education
YOU ARE ON NATIVE LANDOur mission is to promote Indigenous foodways education and facilitate Indigenous food access.
We can be the answer to our ancestors’ prayers
North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS), founded by James Beard award winners The Sioux Chef, is dedicated to addressing the economic and health crises affecting Native communities by re-establishing Native foodways. We imagine a new North American food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises.
NĀTIFS has opened The Indigenous Food Lab in the Midtown Global Market on historic Lake Street in Minneapolis. The Indigenous Food Lab is a professional Indigenous kitchen and training center covering all aspects of food service; research and development; Indigenous food identification, gathering, cultivation, and preparation; and all components of starting and running a successful culinary business based around Native traditions and Indigenous foods.
Reclamation of ancestral education is a critical part of reversing the damage of colonialism and forced assimilation, and food is at the heart of this reclamation. NĀTIFS will drive sustainable economic empowerment and prosperity into tribal areas through a reimagined North American food system that also addresses the health impacts of injustice.
- Indigenous food markets in the US 3%
- Indigenous food restaurants in the US 1%
- Indigenous land in the US 100%
Upcoming Events
INTRO
Indigenous Food Lab
We offer high-quality Indigenous foods and products to our community. We work to broaden access to Native-made goods and allow people to experience contemporary Indigenous offerings while empowering entrepreneurs to expand their markets.
LEARN
Why aren’t there more Native American restaurants?
When you think of North American cuisine, do Indigenous foods come to mind? Chef Sean Sherman serves up an essential history lesson that explains the absence of Native American culinary traditions across the continent, highlighting why revitalizing Indigenous education sits at the center of a better diet and healthier relationship with the planet.
Indigenous Food Lab
ROADMAP
PHASE 1
Indigenous LAB
- Urban location
- An Indigenous market and eatery
- A Native foodways classroom
- Research and development to create more curriculum and educational resources
NOW OPEN
PHASE 2
REGIONAL ACCESS
Creating regional Indigenous Food access
- Work with tribal communities to help develop satellite Indigenous kitchens
- Make Indigenous foods accessible to areas that need it most
PHASE 3
VISION
North American vision
- Replicate Indigenous Food Lab Centers which creates regional counterpoints for development of Indigenous Food Access and Education
- Develop Tribal Community Indigenous Kitchens everywhere
Indigenous Food Lab is a professional Indigenous kitchen and training center at the heart of our work establishing a new Indigenous food system that reintegrates Native Foods and Indigenous-focused Education into tribal communities across North America. We envision a future of developing and supporting multiple tribally operated kitchens bringing cultural and nutritional revitalization across North America!
The Indigenous Food Lab Market
A kitchen and retail space that offers high-quality Indigenous foods and products to our community. We work to broaden access to Native-made goods and allow people to experience contemporary Indigenous offerings while empowering entrepreneurs to expand their audience.
The IFL Market in the Midtown Global Market is a first of its kind in Minneapolis; a pilot from NĀTIFS that will be replicated elsewhere throughout North America to support Indigenous food access and enterprise development in any interested region. The Indigenous Food Lab Market will further improve access to and educate about Native foods.
News
Sean Sherman, Indigenous Food Activist and Award-winning Chef, Named to Inaugural ‘Climate 100 List’ by The Independent
MINNEAPOLIS —SEPTEMBER 23, 2024—The Independent...
NATIFS Presents Indigenous Peoples’ Day and IFL brings the Indigenous Cuisine to The Minnesota State Fair
NATIFS is hosting Indigenous Peoples’ Day at the...
Indigenous Food Lab Commissary Prep for Owamni
With one of the most notoriously difficult...
Owamni and Indigenous food lab market celebrate anniversaries this summer
This summer marked 1 year of operation at the...
Reconnecting with Mother Earth: Foraging with Indigenous Values
The more relationships we build with Mother Earth, the less likely we are to overharvest. We believe that a strong relationship fosters respect, and when we know a plant — a medicinal relative — we will know how to take care of it.
IFL Market Welcomes New Vendors
American Unagi - A project of the Passamaquoddy...