Food is a living expression of culture, memory, and identity. Across Native American nations, it remains a powerful act of resistance and reclamation. During Native American Heritage Month, we honor the Indigenous knowledge keepers who are revitalizing traditional foodways, restoring relationships to land, and challenging colonial erasure through the dishes they create. Indigenous chefs are not only preserving ancestral ingredients and cooking techniques, but also strengthening food sovereignty, community health, and cultural pride.
This list highlights 12 Native chefs whose work celebrates their indigenous culinary traditions while educating the world about the depth, diversity, and brilliance of Indigenous cuisine. Through their restaurants, cookbooks, activism, and storytelling, these chefs continue to nourish their communities and inspire a broader movement to decolonize food. Follow and support their work as they carry forward generations of knowledge into a vibrant Indigenous food future.
Sherry Pocknett (Mashpee Wampanoag)
Sherry Pocknett is a Mashpee Wampanoag chef and caterer recognized as the first Indigenous woman to win a James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Northeast (2023). Her renowned Sly Fox Den Too restaurant specialized in Eastern Woodland Indigenous cuisine and honored both familial and tribal culinary legacies. Pocknett’s work focuses on using seasonal, foraged, and Indigenous ingredients passed down through generations; she also plans a food and cultural center in Connecticut. Her approach redefines perceptions of Native food and spotlights Native wisdom in sustainability and flavor. Follow Sherry Pocknett (Mashpee Wampanoag) on social media:
- Instagram: @chefsherrypocknett
- Website: Sly Fox Den
Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota)
Sean Sherman, known as “The Sioux Chef,” is Oglala Lakota and leads prominent efforts to restore Indigenous food systems. Sherman’s work spans revival of precolonial foodways, foraging, seed preservation, and re-educating communities in Indigenous agriculture. He is the founder of NĀTIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems) and chef-owner of Owamni restaurant in Minneapolis, which won the James Beard Best New Restaurant Award in 2022. Sherman’s cookbook, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, is a James Beard Award-winning volume advancing Native American cuisine and food philosophy. Follow Sean Sherman (Oglala Lakota) on social media:
- Instagram: @the_sioux_chef / natifs_org
- Website: org
Crystal Wahpeha (Kickapoo)
Crystal Wahpepah, a member of the Kickapoo and Sac and Fox tribes of Oklahoma, is an Indigenous chef and entrepreneur. She was the first Native woman to own a restaurant in Northern California (Wahpepah’s Kitchen) and competed as the first Indigenous chef on Food Network’s “Chopped.” Wahpepah runs both a catering business and a restaurant, which aim to reclaim Native cuisine. She’s also a James Beard finalist in the Emerging Chef category in 2022. Follow Crystal Wahpepah (Kickapoo and Sac and Fox tribes of Oklahoma) on social media:
- Instagram: @wahpepahskitchen
- Website: wahpepahskitchen.com
Jessica Pamonicutt (Menominee)
Jessica Pamonicutt is an enrolled member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and a classically trained chef at Le Cordon Bleu. She is the executive chef and owner of Ketapanen Kitchen, Chicago’s first Native American pop-up kitchen and catering business, and works to launch the city’s first Native American food truck. Dedicated to bringing Indigenous cuisine to Chicago’s culinary scene, she prioritizes health-conscious, locally sourced, and Indigenous ingredients while using her platform to educate and advocate for Native food sovereignty. Follow Jessica Pamonicutt on social media:
- Instagram: @ketapanenkitchen
- Website: com
Pyet DeSpain (Prairie Band Potawatomi)
Pyet DeSpain is a Prairie Band Potawatomi and Mexican American chef who blends her cultural heritage into Indigenous Fusion Cuisine. She started her private chef service, Pyet's Plate, in 2016. Despite early struggles, including homelessness, her persistence paid off when she won the first season of Gordon Ramsay's "Next Level Chef" in 2022. Prior to that, in 2021, she was recognized as one of Los Angeles' top private chefs by Entrepreneur magazine. Pyet leverages her culinary success to promote Indigenous foodways and culture through storytelling, pop-up restaurants, and media appearances. Follow Pyet DeSpain on social media:
Inez Cook (Nuxalk)
Inez Cook is the chef-proprietor and co-founder of Salmon n' Bannock, Vancouver's only Indigenous restaurant. A member of the Nuxalk Nation, Cook is a survivor of the Canadian Sixties Scoop, an experience she recounts in her children's book "Sixties Scoop." Her restaurant celebrates Indigenous identity by employing people from diverse First Nation communities and serving dishes that feature Indigenous ingredients like salmon, game, maple syrup, dried bison, and wild rice (manoomin). Follow Inez Cook on social media:
- Instagram: @salmonnbannockbistro
- Website: net
Freddie Bitsoie (Navajo Nation)
A member of the Navajo Nation, Chef Freddie Bitsoie is an acclaimed culinary educator and former executive chef at Mitsitam Native Foods Café, located at the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, D.C. Bitsoie focuses on elevating Native American cuisine in mainstream settings and authored “The New Native Kitchen,” a book blending tradition with contemporary flavors. Follow Freddie Bitsoie on social media:
- Instagram: @fjonbitsoie
Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache and Diné)
Nephi Craig (White Mountain Apache and Diné) is both a chef and the founder of the Native American Culinary Association. He leads wellness and culinary training programs for Indigenous youth and opened Café Gozhóó on the White Mountain Apache Reservation, specializing in healing foods and Indigenous food sovereignty. Follow Nephi Craig on social media:
- Instagram: @nephi_craig
- Instagram :cafe_gozhoo
Loretta Barrett Oden (Citizen Potawatomi)
Loretta Barrett Oden (Citizen Potawatomi Nation) is a chef, native food historian. She has spent over three decades dedicated to preserving and sharing Native culinary traditions. She is best known for her PBS series “Seasoned With Spirit”:A Native Cook’s Journey and opened Santa Fe’s Corn Dance Café, the first restaurant to showcase Indigenous foods of the Americas. Oden teaches, consults, and mentors about Native culinary history nationwide. Follow Loretta Barrett Oden on social media:
- Instagram: @lorettabvo
Brian Yazzie (Diné/Navajo)
Brian Yazzie, also known as Yazzie the Chef, is a member of the Diné (Navajo) Nation from Dennehotso, Arizona. He moved to Minnesota in 2013 and became chef de cuisine at Sean Sherman's The Sioux Chef in 2014. In 2016, he and his wife Danielle Yazzie-Polk founded Intertribal Foodways, a catering company in St. Paul that prepares Indigenous meals and conducts cooking demonstrations for Native communities. Yazzie is deeply committed to promoting Indigenous food sovereignty and health, using traditional ingredients and cooking methods while adapting to contemporary needs. Follow Brian Yazzie on social media:
- Instagram: @chef_yazzie
- Facebook: Yazzie The Chef
- YouTube: Chef Yazzie TV
Will Johnson (Narragansett)
Will Johnson, a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe, is the owner of Willie’s Place, a take-out spot in Wakefield where he shares foods inspired by his Native heritage. A lifelong cook encouraged by friends and family to open his own restaurant, Johnson created a menu that highlights traditional favorites such as tacos served on fried bread, something he felt was missing in the area. Working alongside Nina Smith-Cotto, who brings both Native American and Puerto Rican influences, he offers a blend of cultural flavors that quickly gained local support, with the shop selling out soon after opening. Follow Will Johnson on social media:
- Instagram: @therealchefwill
- Facebook: Will Johnson
Mariah Gladstone (Blackfeet, Cherokee)
Mariah Gladstone is an Indigenous chef, advocate, and educator who is enrolled in the Blackfeet Nation and also has heritage in the Cherokee Nation. She grew up in northwestern Montana and later founded the digital platform “Indigikitchen,” where she teaches recipes and food-systems knowledge based on Indigenous ingredients and traditions. Follow Mariah Gladstone on social media:
- Instagram: @mariahgladstone
Top photo by Stephani.
