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Taste the Flavors of Native American Cuisine
Discover 5 Indigenous restaurants that offer history and culture
A trip to Indigenous restaurants, such as Indígena by Owamni in Minneapolis, allows travelers to experience traditional Native American ingredients.
Courtesy of Indígena by Owamni
Key takeaways
- Indigenous restaurants provide a way to experience Native American cuisine and traditions.
- Ancestral foods are an important part of Native American cultures.
- Recognize National Native American Heritage Month throughout November.
More than 400 years ago, Native Americans in the West and in the middle of the country subsisted on a diet that included roots, berries, wild rice and protein such as venison, salmon or bison. Other staples were the three sisters of indigenous cuisine: corn, beans and squash.
Traditional foods are an important part of Native American culture, with 4 in 10 Native Americans over 55 reporting that they eat them regularly, according to a 2024 National Resource Center on Native American Aging survey.
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One way Native American cuisine customs are passed down is through ancestral heirloom seeds. These are seeds with a documented history in the region, so any of the three sisters tastes similar to how they did years ago. You can taste corn or beans that may have been dried 50 to 100 years ago, says Ben Jacobs, who owns Tocabe, a restaurant specializing in Native American cuisine in Denver. “Even though they’re growing now, it’s the same bean that previous generations ate.”
In recognition of National Native American Heritage Month in November — or if you’d like to try foods indigenous to America throughout the year — try one of these restaurants or cookbooks.
At Javelina in Portland, Oregon, foods served in November align with the natural seasonal cycle, such as wild salmon, oysters, squash, berries and game meats.
Courtesy of Javelina Indigenous Dining
1. Javelina, Portland, Oregon
At Javelina, there’s a belief that food is medicine, and being a talented chef is a gift you should give back to your community, says Nick Numkena-Anderson, Javelina co-owner and operations manager. “Food starts with nourishing your body, your soul and then your mind,” he says. “There’s a reason why Native Americans eat the way they’ve been eating and have done so for so long.”
How to incorporate Native American foods
If you can’t make it to one of these restaurants this season, try making Native American dishes a part of your family’s Thanksgiving meal. Find recipes in Sean Sherman’s Turtle Island cookbook, on Tocabe’s website and in Crystal Wahpepah’s cookbook, A Feather and a Fork.
In the restaurant, you can expect to try foods from tribes in the Northwest and Southwest, he says, as his wife, chef and co-owner Alexa Numkena-Anderson, is registered to the Hopi tribe in Arizona and was raised on the Yakama reservation in Washington state.
There’s Ga’ivsa, a fire-roasted corn cooked and then dried before being ground. “[It’s] rehydrated into almost a corn risotto and used as a base for some of our vegan dishes because it’s all clearly vegetarian,” Nick Numkena-Anderson says.
Foods served at Javelina in November align with the natural seasonal cycle, he says. The menu includes wild salmon, oysters, squash, berries and game meats. Wild turkey, which is native to the area, may also be on the menu.
Other activities: Check out urban wineries such as Portland Wine Company, and ride the Portland Aerial Tram for under $10 round trip for panoramic views of the city and the Cascade Mountains.
At Indígena by Owamni, visitors could try (clockwise from top) shrimp served with tortillas, Pacific Northwest wild-caught salmon served with a huckleberry tomato aioli and oysters.
Courtesy of Indígena by Owamni
2. Indígena by Owamni, Minneapolis
If you’re in Minneapolis, the new restaurant Indígena by Owamni, an expansion of the James Beard Award-winning Owamni, features foods from local lands and Indigenous communities across North America.
You won’t see beef, pork or chicken that is not indigenous to the United States on Indígena menus, says Sean Sherman, 52.
The restaurant is owned by the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems, which coordinates access to ancestral foods for Native American communities and helps to fund nutrition education initiatives. Šhotá Indigenous BBQ by Owamni is the organization’s next venture in Minneapolis, set to open this winter.
Other activities: Indígena’s downtown Minneapolis location is within the Guthrie Theater building. You can have a Native American dining experience before or after seeing a show. While in Minneapolis, explore one of the city’s 14 lakes or escape the cold by using downtown’s skyways that connect most buildings. If you’re a fan of the musician Prince, take a short drive to his former home and studio, Paisley Park.
“What makes our food so special, I believe, is that it’s been built and designed to not always be seasonal because of drying methods and curing methods,” says Ben Jacobs, owner of Tocabe in Denver, seen here serving an American Indian taco.
Cyrus McCrimmon/The Denver Post via Getty Images
3. Tocabe, Denver
Depending on the location, Tocabe has two very different menus. At Denver’s airport, you’ll find dishes like elk sausage and bison, along with posu bowls of indigenous grains, such as wild rice and Osage hominy year-round, Jacobs says.
At the restaurant’s other locale near downtown Denver, a variety of seasonal and nonseasonal ingredients appear on the menu. “What makes our food so special, I believe, is that it’s been built and designed to not always be seasonal because of drying methods and curing methods,” Jacobs says.
“In November, something that we love to do [that incorporates dried, traditional beans] is a white tepary bean salad, which has roasted green chiles, roasted poblano peppers and fire-charred cactus,” Jacobs says.
In the late fall, the restaurant makes a dish similar to chimichurri with fresh chopped herbs, as well as fire-roasted, maple-glazed squash from an Osage recipe. Foods are sourced from multiple tribes, such as the Navajo, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Cheyenne River Sioux. Tocabe also provides meals back to the communities from which it sources some of its products, such as buffalo and squash.
Other activities: Check out the Denver Art Museum’s exhibit beginning Nov. 7 on Latin American Indigenous populations, or hike among the red rocks dressed in layers as it gets chilly.
The food at Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland, California, has a cross-section of tribal and dietary influences, such as the Three Sisters Veggie Bowl.
Courtesy of Wahpehpah’s Kitchen
4. Wahpepah’s Kitchen, Oakland, California
Chef Crystal Wahpepah, owner and chef at the Wahpepah’s Kitchen in Oakland, California, is a registered member of the Kickapoo Nation of Oklahoma, but the food she serves has a cross-section of tribal and dietary influences. For instance, there’s smoked salmon from Northern California, Cheyenne River short loin bison and smoked hibiscus taquitos.
Other activities: While in Oakland, you can visit a protected redwood forest and see sights at the Golden Gate Bridge. Oakland is less than 30 minutes by ferry or public transit train from San Francisco.
The menu at Fry Bread House in Phoenix centers on fry bread, seen here with stew.
Courtesy of Fry Bread House
5. Fry Bread House, Phoenix
Fry Bread House is a small, counter-service restaurant in Phoenix, where the menu centers on fry bread, which originated in the mid-1800s when the U.S. government forced Native Americans from what is now Arizona and New Mexico off their land and relocated them on foot to eastern New Mexico. Without access to their crops, the Navajo Indians were given U.S. government rations, including flour, salt and lard. Fry bread was created from those ingredients out of survival.
Today, fry breads are either sweet or savory. They can be used as a base for tacos or served with vegetables, beans and meat. In 2012, Fry Bread House won a James Beard Award for its take on this staple.
Other activities: While in the Phoenix area, expand your foodie experience by dining at a Route 66-style motel, like the Egyptian Motor Hotel or the retro Hotel Valley Ho, where Natalie Wood celebrated her wedding. It’s also a great time of year for hiking, with mild weather.
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