Sean Sherman, now also known as the Sioux Chef, had the goal of sharing his heritage with others, as well as reviving the native food culture amongst contemporary chefs. He did this through an extensive amount of research, by drawing information from his elders who continue to use the native american way of cooking today. By doing so, he was able to contrast the modern styles with those of his ancestors. Instead of solely using Native American recipies, he decided to instead eliminate the major factors which set apart the two cultures- including certain cooking techniques as well as unnatural or processed ingredients. This created a modern cuisine which subsituted many ingredients with healthy natural ones, as well as spices, vegetables, and berries which were commonly identified with the original native american cuisine. He then went on to revive original recipies, some even being from his childhood. He now shares his Sioux Chef cuisine with many, and it has drawn alot of attention for being extremely healthy. However, this also serves a greater purpose as he is able to accuratley share part of his heritage in an uncontroversial way, leading to an increased interest in the culture, causing people to want to learn more. That trend can help revive more customs as well as continuing to preserve them.
Thanks for your thoughtful write-up on the 'Sioux Chef's" work! I'm glad you mentioned the health angle - that's very interesting considering the negative impact that processed foods are having in the US today.
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