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
NATIFS partners with Mariah Gladstone of Indigikitchen
When Mariah Gladstone (Blackfeet, Cherokee) was...
Recap of NATIFS’ COP 28 Attendance
Like most things in Dubai, Expo City, the...
NATIFS Events Team Takes on Tribal Nations Summit in Washington DC
As part of the 2023 Tribal Nations Summit at The White House in Washington D.C., NATIFS partnered with several Indigenous chefs from around the country to provide decolonized meals.
Indigenous Knowledge Champion: Rick Barboza of Hui Ku Maoli Ola
The co-founder of Hawaii’s largest Native Plant nursery understands the path to saving wildlife means saving Hawaii’s plant life first.
How the Farm Bill Can Help Native American Communities
By U.S. Senator Tina Smith One of the best parts...
NATIFS Manifesto: Harnessing Indigenous Food Practices to Combat Climate Change
At North American Indigenous Food Systems...