In part two, Sean dives deeper into the impact of creating jobs and economic opportunities for Indigenous communities. He explains how hiring Native workers and sourcing ingredients from local tribes and producers directly benefits those communities. Sean emphasizes the importance of keeping dollars circulating within Indigenous economies and how his business models a reciprocal relationship between restaurants and providers. He shares insights from opening his restaurant during COVID and how pandemic difficulties highlighted the need for more Indigenous food security networks. Throughout the conversation, Sean and Frank unpack the potential for Indigenous-led businesses to catalyze systemic changes and create a new, more cooperative capitalism. Tune in to hear Sean's wisdom on nurturing community resilience through food entrepreneurship grounded in Indigenous values.

About Chef Sean Sherman: A member of the Oglala Lakota tribe, Chef Sean Sherman focuses on the revitalization and evolution of Indigenous foods systems throughout North America. Through his activism and advocacy, Sean is helping to reclaim and celebrate the rich culinary heritage of Indigenous communities around the world. Sean has dedicated his career to supporting and promoting Indigenous food systems and Native food sovereignty. His goal is to make Indigenous foods more accessible to as many communities as possible through the non-profit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NĀTIFS) and its Indigenous Food Lab professional Indigenous kitchen and training center. Working to address the economic and health crises affecting Native communities by re-establishing Native foodways, NĀTIFS imagines a new North American food system that generates wealth and improves health in Native communities through food-related enterprises. Sean’s first book, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, received the James Beard Award for Best American Cookbook in 2018, and he was given the 2019 Leadership Award from the James Beard Foundation. In 2021, Sean opened Minnesota’s first full service Indigenous restaurant, Owamni, which received the 2022 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in America on top of numerous awards nationwide. Sean has just been named one of the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2023. For more visit his website seansherman.com.