Three attendees of the James Beard Awards
Michael Twitty, Sean Sherman, and Dana Thompson at the JBF Leadership Awards
Clearly, I'm here for the parties. Attending the James Beard Awards weekend is about lots of food and drink and fun, but it's also about the future, and the past.
Last night I was present at the James Beard Leadership Awards which honor people and organizations that are working to change our food world for the better.
The 2019 honorees included Cornelius Blanding of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, working to help black farmers retain their lands and livelihoods. Anim Steel of The Real Food Generation is bringing the idea of food sovereignty to universities and colleges across the country. Leah Penniman, a farmer and author, uses her Soul Fire Farm to end racism in the food system and reconnect the land to ancestral roots. The Pioneer Valley Workers Center is a group of dedicated individuals using their collective power to help workers and immigrants in the food world. But it was of course our own Sean Sherman of The Sioux Chef that I was there to see.
He was the last of the honorees to be introduced, and that felt kind of right for his quiet intensity to close the emotional presentation. Each recipient was introduced by a colleague, conspirator, or friend, so Michael W. Twitty took the podium to introduce Sherman. An award-winning culinary historian and educator, Twitty talked about his experience cooking a dinner with Sherman at the Fort Snelling site. "He told me that this site was a sacred creation place for his people. He said look, part of my people said this is where the world began. I mean, how often do you meet somebody's Eden?" He went on to speak about how he and Sherman both have a need to reinvigorate the stories of the past, and pass them on to the next generations so we don't lose their meaning.
When Sherman took the podium, he talked about his indigenous roots, his family's struggles, and his path to becoming a chef. "We live in a world with so much knowledge out there, but still today, we find cities like Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, with zero Native American restaurants. Nothing that touches to people, the history, or the land that we are currently occupying. We believe that in North America, wherever you are standing, you're standing on indigenous land. And it would benefit anybody to learn the languages, the history, the foods, the flavors, and the stories of the land that we are on today." I love this challenge: if you claim to love local, how far back are you willing to go? "Indigenous peoples have the blueprint on how to live sustainably, with just the plants and animals around them.
Sherman ended with "We are all related, and we can be the answers to our ancestors' prayers." A fitting way to honor the past while striving for a better future.
Stay tuned for more good news from The Sioux Chef.
