Thanksgiving is a complex holiday for Indigenous peoples. While many Native communities choose not to observe it as a way of recognizing the difficult history behind the day, others embrace the tradition of gathering for a feast—but with a focus on cultural recipes that honor their heritage. Chef Sean Sherman, an Oglala Lakota Sioux, is one of those who celebrates thoughtfully.

Sherman, best known for his popular cookbook The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen, recently hosted a pre-Thanksgiving dinner in his own unique style. The intimate event took place at his Minneapolis restaurant, Owamni, where he gathered close friends to enjoy good food, conversation, and to mark the release of his latest cookbook, Turtle Island: Foods and Traditions of the Indigenous Peoples of North America, which came out earlier this month. Among the guests were photographer David Alvarado, staff from Sherman’s nonprofit Natifs, and members of the Owamni team.

In Turtle Island, Sherman shares modern recipes made with decolonized ingredients. He traveled across North America—from Northern Alaska to the Great Plains to southern Mexico—exploring regional flavors and traditional foods that rely on wild game, fish, fruits, and vegetables used long before colonization. “This book isn’t just about what traditional foods were,” Sherman explains. “It’s a vision for the future. I wanted to show what’s still possible with the ingredients we have and what we can create. Indigenous cultures across North America are incredibly diverse, and I wanted to illustrate what food looks like when colonial influences are removed entirely.”

For his dinner party, Sherman continued to bring this vision to life. He served dishes featuring Indigenous-produced foods like hand-harvested wild rice from Minnesota Tribal harvesters, traditional corn grown by Native nations, pure maple syrup from tribal producers, and Native-grown beans. “I wanted the table to feel like a quiet revolution,” he says. “Something decolonized, beautiful, and unmistakably Indigenous—a place where people can sit, learn, and taste how health, diversity, and solidarity come together on a plate.”

By using vibrant vegetables, seasonal plants, wild game, and fish that Indigenous communities have relied on for centuries, Sherman highlighted what gathering means today: a time to appreciate and give thanks for the foods the natural world provides. “We built a table the way our Indigenous communities celebrate—through abundance,” Sherman notes. “These ingredients carry land, lineage, and labor. They’re more than just products—you’re tasting culture, resilience, and the ongoing presence of Indigenous peoples. Food isn’t just nourishment; it’s a form of resistance and a celebration of who we are.”

As holiday hosting and cooking pick up in the coming weeks, Sherman hopes readers of his new cookbook will adopt a more mindful approach to food. “I want people to move beyond the colonial myth that erases centuries of land theft and violence, and instead celebrate the living cultures whose foods shaped this continent long before it was called America,” he says. His top tip for the holiday season? “Support BIPOC-produced foods and acknowledge the history behind them.”Acknowledge the land you’re on and the historical and ongoing struggles of Black, Indigenous, and immigrant communities. Donate leftovers to organizations that support the unhoused. Focus on shared human values rather than division or hatred.

Photographed by Aidan Klimenko

In celebration of his recent dinner party and new book, Sherman shares a fresh recipe from his cookbook with Vogue: a comforting garden vegetable soup with dumplings from southern Mexico, ideal for autumn. “Chochoyotes are traditional small dumplings often served in broth,” Sherman explains. “They’re simple and enjoyable to make, adding heartiness to the soup. And don’t forget to spice it up for some heat!”

Sopa de Milpa con Chochoyotes y Chipilín (Garden Vegetable Soup with Dumplings)
Serves 4 to 6
Photo: David Alvarado

Similar to practices elsewhere in Turtle Island, the Maya in the Yucatán and other Indigenous groups in central and southern Mexico grow corn, beans, squash, chilies, tomatoes, and more together in a method called the milpa.

Sopa de milpa is a versatile soup that mirrors what’s available in home gardens, varying by season and cook. When possible, I add chipilín leaves for a mild, spinach-like flavor with a hint of green bean. This shrub grows wild in South and Central America and southern Mexico, and though it’s sometimes cultivated in the U.S., baby spinach makes a good substitute.

To make the soup more substantial, I include chochoyotes—simple masa dumplings—but they’re optional if you prefer to skip them.

Ingredients
– 8 ounces fresh masa or masa harina
– 3 tablespoons avocado or sunflower oil
– 1 bunch chipilín leaves (stems removed) or 3 cups baby spinach
– ½ medium white onion, chopped
– Sea salt
– 6 garlic cloves, minced
– 1 jalapeño or serrano chili, stemmed, seeded if desired, and thinly sliced
– 1 pound summer squash (e.g., zucchini), quartered lengthwise and cut into ½-inch pieces
– 2 medium tomatoes, cored and chopped
– 6 cups roasted bird stock or vegetable broth
– 1 sprig of epazote
– 2 ears of corn, husked and cut into 1-inch rounds
– 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
– 12 squash flowers, stemmed, halved lengthwise, and stamens or pistils removed

Instructions
1. Combine the masa with 1 tablespoon of oil.
2. Finely chop half of the chipilín leaves and mix them into the masa by hand. Cover the masa while shaping the dumplings and keep them covered once formed.
3. Line a baking sheet or cutting board with parchment paper. Scoop the masa into ½-inch balls using a teaspoon, place them on the parchment, and press your thumb into each to create an indentation.
4. In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook for about 5 minutes until translucent. Stir in the garlic and chili and cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
5. Add the squash and tomatoes, season with salt, and cook for 5 minutes until the tomatoes soften and release their juices.
6. Pour in the stock, add the remaining chipilín leaves and epazote, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer, add the corn rounds, and cook for 4 minutes until tender.
7. Gently add the masa dumplings to the soup and simmer for 7–10 minutes until cooked through and tender, being careful not to overcook to prevent them from falling apart.
8. Remove the epazote sprig, stir in the vinegar, and adjust salt to taste. Add the halved squash blossoms, let them wilt slightly, then serve.

Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of FAQs about Chef Sean Shermans preThanksgiving gathering designed to be clear concise and natural

General Beginner Questions

Q Who is Chef Sean Sherman
A Hes an awardwinning Oglala Lakota chef author and educator who is famous for his work revitalizing Indigenous foodways His company is called The Sioux Chef

Q What was the main point of his preThanksgiving gathering
A To offer an alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving narrative by centering Indigenous foods flavors and perspectives celebrating Native American heritage and resilience

Q What does a shift in tradition mean in this context
A It means moving the focus away from the historically inaccurate Pilgrim and Native American story and towards a meal that honors and uses ingredients native to the Americas prepared with Indigenous knowledge

Q What kind of food was served
A The menu featured precolonial ingredients like bison turkey wild rice corn beans squash cedar and sumacall prepared without European ingredients like dairy wheat or refined sugar

Deeper Advanced Questions

Q Why is this considered a powerful act
A Its powerful because it reclaims a narrative By decolonizing the Thanksgiving meal it educates people challenges stereotypes and affirms the vibrancy and continuity of Indigenous cultures

Q What are decolonized or indigenous foodways
A This refers to a food system based on the foods cooking techniques agricultural practices and culinary knowledge that are native to a specific region and its original peoples before European colonization

Q What are some common challenges in preparing a meal like this
A Sourcing authentic precolonial ingredients can be difficult for some It also requires learning new flavors and cooking techniques that are outside of standard Western cuisine

Q Can you give an example of a dish that represents this shift
A Instead of green bean casserole you might have a dish of fresh green beans with a sauce made from ground walnuts and mushrooms seasoned with wild herbs

Practical HowTo Questions

Q How can I incorporate some of these ideas into my own Thanksgiving
A Start small Source one ingredient from a local Indigenous producer like wild