Sean Sherman: Why aren't there more Native American restaurants? | TED

[@Ughwhocares]

There was an Anishinaabe restaurant called Nish Dish here in Toronto that didn't survive covid. I think about the food often, I always left happier than when I came in.

[@susanfanning9480]

I've heard of that one.

[@galilei7748]

It looks like they're trying to make a comeback: they've got a GoFundMe page, but I'm not 100% clear on the details

[@is_a_verb]

What's your favorite thing that they served?

[@slashismyhommie8182]

I thought this was gonna be a stand up comedy... BORING. Just kidding, but seriously, the headline sounded like a standup. There is funny native American comedians...Im sure you could find some...I feel really bad not being able to name any, but Joe Rogan I can say isn't a native comedian or even a funny comedian either, cause he's a moron stoner that is like How Buck for UFC, and sport fans hate Joe Buck, idk why millennials and incels don't hate Rogan like normal sport fans hate Joe Buck, but causal fans think Joe Rogan explains MMA in ways Boone else can, but they also never seen a broadcast without Joe Rogan, so ya, it show how many casual Joe Rogan fans have ever seen an MMA match called by literally anyone in else in the sport for the oat nearly 30 years

[@DarkZerol]

As a Chinese, I have genuinely never heard or seen of a native American restaurant of anykind.

[@rebeccagreen7241]

"We haven't had time to heal yet, let alone EVOLVE." Wow--powerful words to explain the absence of Native restaurants 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@martynconkling8876]

It is crazy how recent all of this was

[@marvalice3455]

@@martynconkling8876 that is how time works yes

[@rebeccagreen7241]

@@martynconkling8876 Right? The moral buffer between us and these atrocities is thin and very porous

[@silvercloud1641]

9:48 *Can't* celebrate religion when the constitution clearly states "Freedom of Religion?" Yet that pos man-made dogmatic white washed heavily edited book called 'the bible' which condones slavery is pushed on society? "Slaves, obey your earthly masters..." - Colossians 3:22 "Slaves, be obedient to your human masters..." - Ephesians 6:5 "Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters..." Peter 2:18 I throw that book in the trash where it belongs.

[@marvalice3455]

@@silvercloud1641 if you value thd freedom to reject religion, you should respect that others will not. If you cannot do that you are just a bigot.

[@kaktees]

This guy dropping burns casually is my favourite song tonight

[@claiminglight]

Am I getting old or do these words mean nothing in this order?

[@buggaby9]

"Our kids can name more k-pop bands than trees, and it's your fault."

[@okaywhat3]

@HumanPerson 🤣

[@croaker6099]

@@buggaby9 I felt that one.

[@LisaPellegrino]

This is easily one of the best TED talks I've ever seen, and I've watched a lot. How Chef Sean is able to pack in so much painful, important history, and then end with such a hopeful and inspiring vision for a path forward is truly remarkable. I'm now a huge fan of this incredible humanitarian's work. Bravo!

[@democlips1]

@@Roman_Sobieszczanski-Paszteski agreed

[@galilei7748]

@@Roman_Sobieszczanski-Paszteski He's got a cookbook (which I own). Some of the dishes I remember are wojape (a kind of berry sauce) and taniga (bison tripe stew reserved for special occasions).

[@grovermartin6874]

@@galilei7748 Do you remember the name of the cookbook?

[@galilei7748]

@@grovermartin6874 The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen

[@grovermartin6874]

@@galilei7748 Thank you very much!

[@immgrntsrus]

“You call it a weed just because you don’t know what it is.” 💯

[@eschwarz1003]

Yes, a weed = plant growing in "undesired" location. Queen Anne's lace is basically a wild carrot, dandelion greens are perfectly edible,healthy; nutgrass of which people go to great lengths to eradicate, used to be used for multiple purposes. Sumac too.

[@woltews]

ok , so now that I know what they are how dos this help me ? Russian thistle purple loosestrife Russian olive wild parsnip wild oats

[@woltews]

@@Call-me-Al you might find something interesting about how you can use those if you check them out

[@hackbodies]

Because white people have lost a part of themselves as well Before the 1950s and the explosion of suburbs, white people grew their own food on their "lawn". Only the rich could afford to have unproductive land. The garden was where your medicine and food came from, many things which are considered weeds now were brought over by European settlers.

[@erichooper2794]

@@hackbodies you say white people but that true of everyone living in metropolitan areas

[@BigBadBalrog]

"Build a pantry that tastes like where you are" is fucking awesome

[@detectivewiggles]

It's important if you deal with chronic inflammation issues. Globalism is incredibly confusing to your innate immune system

[@jogadorjnc]

@@detectivewiggles Your immune system doesn't know where you're from.

[@marvalice3455]

It's boring. It's the sort of thing only someone in prime agricultural areas can say with a straight face.

[@marvalice3455]

@@detectivewiggles do you have any evidence for that?

[@charliejohanssen7421]

@@jogadorjnc It does actually, you inherited your microbiome from your ancestors and the foods you evolved alongside for centuries

[@KevinContreras2013]

I don't know why I never thought about why there aren't a lot of Native American restaurants and his explanation makes a lot of sense. Food is like language and culture. It's all intertwined together. You can't make Native American food without learning the culture of the Native American tribe that food belonged to. Amazing talk!

[@heatherlee2967]

He chose an amazing segue...powerful stuff

[@sliderx1897]

Cuz ur school didnt want u to think about such things.

[@chrisd5645]

We all need to stop insulting these proud members of their OWN nations by labeling them "Native Americans". They have their OWN national identities, which include Cherokee, Navajo, Apache, and more. They are NOT Americans and the media should be ashamed of their attempt to cancel these wonderful cultures by lumping them all into a generic "American" stew. Despicable.

[@hoonaignachowaneha]

I think you need to invent the wheel before you move onto industrial refrigeration and mass cooking.

[@dosmundos3830]

restaurants are a capitalist idea that doesn't fit in with native culture.

[@courge37]

"Lawns are fucking stupid" 💯💯💯 I've been hating on lawns for so long 😂

[@remyllebeau77]

One of the few points I can agree with on this video. A tradition passed down so the rich could show off how many workers they had to keep up the yard, and now the average house owner is stuck doing all the work themselves or paying a company just to have wasted space.

[@BobOBob]

Absolutely. We let ours go many year ago. We now have ... whatever survives. Some people say it looks like weeds, but I keep it under control and call it "Darwinian Xeriscaping."

[@Sicpuede]

I planted a California native garden and people looked at me weird at first because everyone has lawns.. now with this drought people ask me about my garden!

[@mchoffner8497]

Amen to that!

[@the_algorithm]

@@remyllebeau77 "One of the few points I can agree with on this video" Have you actually studied Native American history? I have. I have an M.A. in history. This guy is NOT wrong. Acknowledging that our ancestors "may" have done bad things does not make you less American or Patriotic. Sand Creek Massacre... nuff said

[@piccalillipit9211]

*HERE IN BULGARIA* lawns are a statement of wealth - "look I can afford this patch of useless unproductive land that actually costs money and labour to keep it unproductive" I'm guessing most countries lawns started off as a status symbol.

[@nikburton9264]

Yep yep

[@joyaustin6581]

Lawns as food source only makes sense

[@audreymuzingo933]

It's funny how (at least in the U.S.) the majority of a home's "yard" is expected to be nothing but very short grass, and you can face penalties for letting it grow "too" tall, even though it's not hurting anything whatsoever. In my early 20's my boyfriend and I lived in a trailer park, and believe it or not trailer parks have their own different levels of "class", and this one we lived in was one of the slummiest in town, like none of the trailers was under 20 years old and most were much older, and the "roads" were just gravel with depressions up to a foot deep. But the one thing that was absolutely enforced was keeping the "lawns" around the trailers mowed, and it was the tenant's responsibility--you had to either own a mower and mow the lawn yourself or pay extra rent if the landlord's handyman mowed it. Long reply short, it's just so funny to me how a lawn used to be a symbol of wealth but is now the enforced standard for everyone including the poorest people.

[@piccalillipit9211]

@@audreymuzingo933 - That's interesting.... I lived for 2 years in THE worst apartment in the WORST block in the WORST part of the WORST zone of the city here in Burgas Bulgaria. It was the bottom floor bottom corner apartment next to "gypsy land" the encampment of Roma Gypsies on the outskirts - on many occasions bricks would be thrown through the windows at 3.00am... so I know what roughing it is like LOL

[@robincrowflies]

@@audreymuzingo933 Yeah because the poor are supposed to aspire to be rich. It's one of the ways our class system works so well. People who are in desperate need of help voting for Republicans, who have no intent of helping anyone but themselves.

[@galilei7748]

Watching this guy talk has made me realize how I little I know about the plants surrounding me, let alone what's edible. We need more folks like Sean Sherman out there.

[@charmagne2102]

Yes, Humans can eat a variety of foods. Kinda like raccoons.

[@juliahenriques210]

Yes! The expression on people's faces when you give them the "real version" (way less salt, fresh ingredients, patient seasoning, a couple hours devoted to preparation) of industrialised food to taste is priceless already. Now imagine if they could taste the immense variety of local ingredients and recipes that should still exist all around the world. Imagine if local food industry could draw from those local resources. When it comes to food quality, nothing beats short, fast supply chains.

[@museinglis1979]

‘Sous-chef’…Sioux 😂 Nice!

[@susanfanning9480]

Love that.

[@pinkeysherbet7249]

Native humor is the best

[@thepeacefish]

“Kids can name more Kpop bands than trees … and that’s your fault” is really profound. People are so capable of learning so much. But we fill our kids heads with logos, jingles, movie quotes, all basically empty calories in terms of intellectual or practical value - and then we act like “knowledge” means abstract math concepts or literary analysis of dead European authors. We don’t even teach kids how to survive in our colonial system -- “why don’t they teach kids how to do taxes” is a constant refrain - let alone how to understand the ecological systems around them and how to thrive in them.

[@Castlependragon]

"Lawns are fucking stupid". Holy crap do i love this guy

[@Surferant666]

I love lying on my lawn and smelling the fresh smell of england

[@Rhygenix]

Lawns are fucking stupid...if you live in a Desert/Mediterranean climate

[@Surferant666]

@@Castlependragon yes we have a saying - the green green grass of HOME.

[@LeebMilder]

I thought he said "blondes are fucking stupid" 😹 thank you for clarifying omg

[@Surferant666]

@@LeebMilder only bottle blondes are stupid. The peroxide melts their brain cell

[@aspenfallen]

As a gardener trying to convert my yard into natives only, I've been such a big fan of Sean since I heard about him years ago. So proud he's also here in Minnesota. His recipe book is fabulous, highly recommended. We need to reconnect with the land beneath our feet, as well as our Native brothers, sisters & two-spirits.

[@Lain-404]

I did some quick research after watching this and Sean Sherman, the man talking, has a cookbook for those interested called "The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen"

[@boardcertifiable]

I have that cookbook, it has alot of great meal ideas, but it's tough finding all of the exact ingredients (Like purslane) unless you go out and find it on the side of the road. (I'm a little bit wary of picking plants off the side of the road since I don't know what may have gotten on them chemical-wise.) So I've been letting my garden grow wild and picking out the invasive plants and keeping native ones. I was lucky that I got a good amount growing now in my back yard, including a good crop of purslane, which imo, tastes great with roast turkey.

[@Ak_guy907]

I’m native Alaskan, and our food was focused on wellness and preservation, very utilitarian. I believe it was the same for most northern tribes in the US. Thus, no cuisine was extracted. Not to say there wasn’t tasty foods, but to outsiders, it would be hard to stomach for most. It isn’t until you move more south, say Mexico, that you could start to find indigenous cousins. They had a lot more access to spices, plants, and materials that would lend itself to developing a cuisine, palatable for outsiders.

[@rafeller9057]

Okay I'm like I don't know 10 minutes in and it's still the pre ramble. I came here to find out about Indian cuisine and the first commenter is the is the only information I'm getting thank you for that. I'm going to have to turn this now cuz it's just rambling

[@TheVigilante2000]

@@rafeller9057 As an Alaskan that has eaten plenty of Aleut food, short answer is it don't taste good. See above for long answer and interesting thoughts about tasty native food.

[@BruceKarrde]

@@TheVigilante2000 Maybe you can help me understand what do you mean with "it don't taste good". Is it unseasoned chicken kind of "not taste good" or "well, you'd eat it if your life depended on it" kind of "not taste good"? Thank you in advance! For context, I come from an area where up until the Romans arrived, we still hunted for food and had a similar style to the Indigeous of most countries.

[@meman6964]

Three sisters: corn, beans, squash. Navajo yummy

[@TheVigilante2000]

@@BruceKarrde It's like M_Bergeron said, the food is more about preservation than taste. Good if you are hungry, but basic. I love smoked/dried salmon (for example), but alone it is kind of much. Lots of meat, fish, and fat, preserved in different ways (some by controlled rotting). Sugars in the form of berries.

[@rochellemcdonald9646]

The history was not just smudged. It was totally airbrushed.

[@MoroccoUnfiltred]

More like wiped out clean

[@ivyherstory]

There was a robust effort to eradicate the history.

[@danagray9709]

Yeah. The native American lobby has completely airbrushed the truth of their "culture" being brutal stone age barbarians who stole their most iconic features from the very people they claim have wiped that culture out. Take the Sioux, for instance, who claim horse rearing as a part of their culture. You know, horses, which are not even indigenous to America and were brought over by European settlers.

[@RavenSaint1]

@@danagray9709 Haringtonhippus francisci was the North American Horse. There are Native American cave drawings that show these horses. They became extinct during the last American Extinction Event. Equus cedralensis was another breed of North American Horse. Native Americans could have been breeding horses prior to the extinction event. Humans tend to survive extinction events that other animals don't. Native Americans were more diverse than most other countries when it comes to visual differences.

[@aulusagerius8540]

@Daniel Dude wtf are you on about? The 4th reply and already someone uses the whataboutism argument. I really shouldn't be surprised given the unironic use of "cringe". "Group X did bad things A" is NOT a justification for "group Y do bad things B" to group X. Otherwise we would not have any crime because all victims can be retroactively proven to not be saints in their lives. This is literally a fundamental pillar of justice that any third rate lawyer knows about and form a central tenet of every country's legal reasoning. And if you think giving back less than 1/100th of the lands that you yourself admitted were taken from Native Americans is "guilt culture", you need to look up that word beforehand. If I stole your wallet and got caught, the compensation certainly has nothing to do with guilt on my part, nor do people who demand that I pay for what I did secretly conspiring to spread a nebulous "guilt culture". We can discuss with nuances about how much reparation is enough, but a context-less, unsubtle "guilt=bad" and "victims and perpetrators are equally bad" is just pissing in the wind.

[@RiverWoods111]

I love this! I remember coming home from school one day (I lived in a multigenerational home) and my grandfather asked me what I learned. I said, "Oh we learned about the Blackfoot "Indians" today" I put the word Indians in quotes because this was the 70's and well we didn't know better. My grandfather said, "What did you learn about them?" so I told him. His face turned stern and he belted out, "Your teacher lied to you! None of that is true!". He then went on to tell me about how my great-great Grandfather had Settled in the Blackfoot territory. The first thing he did was go with gifts to the tribe to meet them and introduce himself. He became good friends with the tribe who helped him plant his crops every year and would help him harvest and he shared his harvest with them. They also helped him build a cabin so that he could bring his family out with him. They would share in their kills the meat, and when the bison started to die off he shared his goats with them. They always brought him the pelts back already tanned. He lived peacefully and even learned their language. My Grandmother grew up amongst them. I have always held that history lesson so close to my heart. To think that we could have all lived peacefully and none of what was done to the native tribes had to be done is so disgusting to me.

[@ritaelysee1599]

I have been in disgust with euro-American colonizers since forever. If the Natives need to heal and evolve. What do you think about the Africans and there need for healing?

[@michaelprimerano3245]

Speaking as one european-american, I wish you the utmost success and you have this family's full support. Not only would I love the opportunity to take my family to an indigenous restaurant oh, but I would also like to learn about indigenous plants in my area. Best of luck.

[@CorndancerHawkeyes91254]

I LOVE HEARING THE TRUTHS OF MY INDIGENOUS ANCESTORS, CULTURAL, TRADITIONAL WAYS OF LIFE!

[@chaotikkitten4978]

YES!!!

[@manhathaway]

@Danny Timms why are you even here?

[@solstice21]

@Danny Timms Can't really say "FAR better" if one thing never had the chance to grow on it's own. What if the BEST thing in the history of the universe could have come from it?

[@lolgamez9171]

@Danny Timms it is correct that we are better off today than precolumbian. But that doesnt change the fact that an entire continents multi millenial history is being neglected. The native belief system is one of if not the richest oral traditions on the planet. Their practices were deeply practical and to deny the genocide systemic and otherwise does a lot of harm.

[@ndnofmana521]

Agreed

[@SuperToughnut]

I'd love to try native American food! I'd like to see more indigenous culture. I want to learn more.

[@rainyday7517]

There are some channels on youtube where Native Americans share teachings about their culture and language.

[@helpabrothawithasubisaiah5316]

Honestly their food wasn't super super good compared to food today lol...

[@ogmius2001]

I was born here...I assume you were too. you are indigenous

[@kingmasterlord]

@@ogmius2001 I'm not sure if that statement was more racist or more stupid

[@christopherdaffron8115]

Hey put a tasty dish in front of me and I will eat it no matter which cuisine it comes from. The US today I think is largely open to different cuisines from around the world so I would expect that Americans would be open to trying some authentic Native American dishes.

[@TheSaneMongrels]

Okay, but why did no one laugh at his Indian restaurants joke? That was really funny

[@cooliipie]

Liberals

[@kingsalami80]

they are scared to laugh

[@ashleycbla]

I caught that too. He was like “so anyways” because no one laughed lol

[@dvanerdivkanade]

@@cooliipie 🇹🇼❤️🇹🇼

[@gigglemaniarunninwild2207]

Cause he aint indian so it’s uncomfortable pretending to laugh along with a culture vulture pulling a warren on the audience

[@Bradimus1]

In Moorhead MN I'm one of our parks they planted a large number of fruit trees and berry bushes and people can take anything free of charge. Every single park should be doing this.

[@stefanieerraez1125]

I hope this may reach out to all the people, I hope and I love his knowledge. I admired him! I really appreciate it . I learned it from my grand father, and his passion to plant fruits and veggies on a small backyard.

[@briantyson7744]

Of course you have something positive to say and you think in a good way. You have a dog in the picture with you, always an indicator that one has a good soul

[@sasachiminesh1204]

This Relative's speaking on history and food is awesome. One of the best quick reviews of American history and policy on Native Americans i've ever heard.

[@xxtoxicgodxxthelegand5909]

“Everywhere you go your on Native American land” 💯💯💯💯💯💯

[@Zombied77]

I was born here I'm a native American too.

[@RoseKB22]

Lawns started out as a status symbol, it's expensive to establish one, and expensive to maintain. I much prefer wild clover, it feeds the rabbits, the deer, and my chickens and ducks.

[@shiftyname38]

It’s probably better if you started a large garden of plants native to your area specifically, a large majority of clover species are not native to the US and we mainly only spread because of european honeybees

[@RoseKB22]

@@shiftyname38 There is already clover growing wild. If you don't plant grass, the clover will appear on it's own. ^_^

[@bonehead3545]

Do you write any native cookbook, chef? I’d love to have one.

[@j3tztbassman123]

Word! I want one too.

[@maehovland6222]

Looks like he wrote a book called 'The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen'. Not sure if it's a cookbook or what, but should be interesting!

[@quazymoodo8452]

@@maehovland6222 This! also Tawâw by Shane M. Chartrand & Jennifer Cockrall-King, Original Local by Heid Erdrich, and Indigenous Food Sovereignty by Devon Mihesuah and Elizabeth Hoover are good foods (I also recommend Native Ethnobotany, which is an encyclopedia of indigenous plant knowledge and uses). Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen does feature recipes as well as indigenous culinary philosophies like biodiversity, food histories, cooking methods, etc. -- there are a few distributors for the total list of ingredients (most of the recipes use ingredients that are affordable from local shops like juniper and sunflower oil, etc.), but your best bet will always be to grow your own garden foods from seeds. Lawns are stupid anyways, so plant a food garden!

[@cicelyb8229]

Check out “Where People Feast: an Indigenous People’s Cookbook” by Dolly and Annie Watts. It covers culinary traditions and techniques of Native Americans along the Pacific NW Coast of British Columbia, Canada.

[@wickofthetrade]

on the website sioux-chef. com is a link to buy his cookbook

[@georgefleming4956]

I came here for the native food, instead got schooled with some history. Thank you.

[@rickfromhell]

This was a privilege to watch and absorb, and everything he said is something I would be really motivated to work towards. So cool.

[@wulfmountainpath3719]

I wish most TRD talks had anywhere never this much quality, truth, and relevance! Gratitude for this little note of reality!

[@franhoffman5374]

Great talk! Very captivating. Such thoughtful and relevant issues raised. Would love to see and taste more indigenous food. Enjoyed listening to all the history. We have a similar story here in New Zealand with our indigenous Maori who are still healing from generational trauma due to colonization. Thankfully we are seeing a rise in and an appreciation of traditional Maori food here and there are some restaurants and food putlets specializing in Maori food. Would love to see that happening in the USA and in the North. Loved this talk. Thankyou x

[@mrnastymrnasty]

The Maori are warriors!

[@thesquishedelf1301]

NZer here as well, I can't wait for the blossoming Maori cuisine to trickle down and get more affordable. There's so much more variety than what most think of of kumara and hangi pork.

[@BigBadBalrog]

Learning more about Indigenous history from a chef trying to understand his cultural roots than I did in 12 years in the Texas public education system. 'Murica

[@Wallie-ragnwall]

Wow, amazingly powerful ted-talk. When I am going to the U.S.A on the holiday of my life, i am going to a eat at a Native American restaurant. Greetings from Sapmi, Norway 🌞.

[@TooLooze]

Hope you have a great time here, friend!

[@thedistantprinceinyouremai6345]

I hope you can find one, as an American I haven’t seen one and I go out of my way to try things I haven’t before

[@Wallie-ragnwall]

Thank you for answering me. This holiday will be in the future, when Native American restaurants will exist i'm sure👍❤

[@inferno33222]

@@Wallie-ragnwall If you're planning an epic trip there is a LOT to see, don't underestimate how big the US is, look up some size comparisons to European countries and plan accordingly!

[@gotsloco1810]

Ragnwall Finding Native American food will be a good trick. About the only place one might find it would be a Pow Wow or Potlatch, AKA a Tribal Festival. I am in California I don't recall ever seeing or even hearing of a Native American restaurant. Between the Catholic Church and the Pandemic of 1824/25 there were not many left. Add intermarriage for decades. I just did a search for Ohlone restaurants and found that there was one in Berkeley, Another small business victim of our current pandemic. I checked a few "Indian Casinos" for there restaurant menus. All I see are mainstream food items. As for general trip planning the U.K. Is about the size of California. On the east coast of the US the states are about the size of our counties, particularly New England. At one point I read a statistic that there were more miles for road in San Bernardino County that needed to be graded once a year than there are miles of road in all of New England.

[@bigred3694]

there is so much truth behind this it almost brought a tear to me eye

[@rainyday7517]

I completely agree with him. It would be great to learn permaculture and seed saving and how to live sustainably.

[@jamieover]

So valuable + important. Thank you, Sean for sharing this wisdom.

[@misschelseawilkinson]

"Kids know more kpop band names than trees, and that's your fault." Thank youuu!!

[@jaososchefget3632]

man gripping af talk. the native american situation is something that does not get talked about enough. this was fire. and loved the way this man talks

[@joshuaerkman1444]

Such a great talk!! Native American restaurants across the nation!!

[@makeapositivedifference]

I've followed him on Facebook for a few years and would love to visit his restaurant if I am ever able. His passion for his history is amazing, and his love of unique indigenous knowledge is wonderful.

[@RamDragon32]

When he says, repeatedly, "We need to learn," he was including all of us who live on the American continent and not just descendants of Indigenous Folks. The total lack of true history taught in school, particularly in US History classes, has bothered me since I was old enough to understand why using the term "Indian" for the indigenous peoples was racist. Somewhere around 6th or 7th grade.

[@huntertuggle2667]

I'd like to know the "true" history you're talking about. Estimated 90-95% of the population was wiped out due to disease. This wasn't done on purpose. No one knew what Germ Theory was at the time. Horrible things happened to the Native people, and the US has not done a good job of rectifying this blemish, but Native Americans are in unincorporated land and have some big skeletons in their closet as well. I'm not talking about the smaller and usually more peaceful tribes.

[@bananamilk8099]

@@huntertuggle2667 …I mean germ theory wasn’t like a thing, but they understood that if they took blankets from sick patients and then gave it to the Native Americans…that the native Americans would get sick. I mean lot of it was unintentional but also sometimes it was intentional

[@ManCheat2]

@@bananamilk8099 That was never done. And even then, they thought it was smell that did it. They would've grabbed any smelly blanket back then to do it.

[@32fps]

@@ManCheat2 Were you there? You cannot say, definitively, that it was "never done." Germ theory hasn't been around for a long time, but people used to fling the bodies of plague victims (and those that died of other diseases) over castle walls during a siege; they may not have understood WHAT transmitted diseases, but they understood that they could be passed from person to person.

[@32fps]

Also, to you @RamDragon's Art Studio, go watch CGP Grey's video about the term "Indian." What fascinates me is people's unwillingness to JUST ASK THEM what they want to be called, as opposed to deciding what's right and correct on their behalf.

[@Marshmallow_Trees]

I grew up in New Mexico, amongst the Navajo and the Pueblo and the Zuni Acoma. I love cuisine from all cultures, and I’d never considered Native American cuisine at a restaurant…and that baffles me and makes feel bad. It’s not that I thought it didn’t belong, it’s that it was absolutely nonexistent where I grew up in the 90s and where I’ve lived since. I would have loved the opportunity to partake in Native American food more often as a child and absolutely would love it now. It would be so amazing to see these indigenous cultures celebrated everywhere.

[@RumoredAtmos]

Very true I, I have never eaten at a native restaurant. Wish there was one around where I live

[@greenmachine5600]

If you have had Mexican food you probably have tried indigenous food before

[@AlexanderRay92]

It's pretty interesting just to see what weeds growing in the yard are edible. Purslane, wild lettuce, thistles, dandelions, clover are the obvious ones I've seen

[@fugithegreat]

Wow, what an excellent talk! So much information was shared here in such a short time, and with just the right amount of humor, bitterness, and optimism.

[@MrTraveller.]

That’s a good point. I’d like to try some Native American Indigenous Food

[@eymannassole6162]

I think you missed the point here!

[@Surferant666]

Yet modern medicine beats all their remedies lol

[@remyllebeau77]

@@Surferant666 Sometimes I'm sure that is the case, but yet they treat symptoms and not the disease. If the modern way was so great, they could and would provide actual cures, instead of lifelong treatments which insures constant customers.

[@Surferant666]

@@remyllebeau77 yes that is the biggest problem handing out pills for any minor crap when sometimes a good diet or wellbeing course would be much better

[@laneatkinson6441]

I know a Native American family, and they made me fry bread from a family recipe that was, at the very least, a few hundred years old. It was delicious! 🤤

[@TheLivirus]

I feel like Sean prepared for a 30 min talk and was told the day before he has only 18 min.

[@robobrain10000]

I think he is just nervous.

[@breezluize3282]

That's all you got out of what he said? You must be a descendant of a colonizer.

[@TheLivirus]

@@breezluize3282 No, that's not all. I liked his talk. Lots of good points. Have a nice day!

[@tedmorris3965]

@@breezluize3282 Let's all hold a grudge against a 12 year old Japanese kid for the attack on Pearl Harbor, because tolerance and understanding!

[@breezluize3282]

@@tedmorris3965 Go away.

[@devcodes312]

I lovedddd this talk! I totally 100% agree! We need more indigenous food everywhere. I would love to learn more about foods indigenous to my area.

[@MichiganUSASingaporeSEAsia]

Yes their needs to be more Native American restaurants, especially on Native American colleges

[@charleyedwards2121]

what would they make......? i was raised my a native dude and the only food i ever heard of was pemmican

[@jannamwatson]

@@charleyedwards2121 hull corn soup, for starters. A+++

[@lewizzrocks]

Not much too make or market. Would be very niche

[@greenmachine5600]

@@lewizzrocks wrong.

[@lewizzrocks]

@@greenmachine5600 i men’s literally every ethnicity has opened chains of restaurants. Never have I seen a native restaurant sadly.

[@Pippi-Longstocking]

I was literally just talking about this with my husband. I follow a lot of Native American channels. I told him that I’d love to try some Native American food like fry bread (lots of fry bread making on KZbin) and really anything that someone would be willing to serve. I loved this TED talk.

[@georgethompson3763]

There's an american indian restaurant in Washington DC, inside the Smithsonian Museum of American Indian. I don't know if they are opened these days, because of the pandemic, but I remember that the museum gift shop used to sell a book of recipes based on the food served at that restaurant. It must be available online.

[@Stormbrise]

I love, love, love this Ted talk. I mourn that my knowledge lacks that I cannot identify plants, or certain trees, or my native tongue, because it is a small language group that the last fluent speaker passed away 20 years ago. Also, the kids at boarding schools were also put out as workers for farms and maids, and not paid for it. They called this education, but it was slavery.

[@keveenkorakor]

Thank you so much for this talk. I realised that I traveled to remote places and villages so I could explore the wonderful native foods. I hope you get to have the chance to eat with a zapoteco family in the hills of Oaxaca or with fishermen off the west coast of India. Nothing compares to homecooked food and an immersive experience in communities. And yessss, I'd love to get easier access to such food more often. Let's keep it small, local and unfranchisable. I wonder if new species would be exploited or farmed and how would it impact the ecosystems. Wonderful challenege ahead of us and let's grow food everywhere. Love love love. Baba Bear

[@RTL2L]

Great talk! I really hope Native American nations will have a rise in future.

[@jennyhammond9261]

Thank you for not just memorizing something and reciting it. Most Ted Talks are. You are a good speaker.

[@woodchuck9]

So true! I hope we can move forward with this. We so need to be better stewards to our land, and we need to help our indigenous first people to heal and find their way back to their roots.

[@sparkymularkey6970]

My mother was sent to a boarding school in the 60s and it was horribly traumatic. She forgot our language and now we're both trying to relearn it. It breaks my heart to know that there was so much knowledge that was lost. I feel like a refugee in my own nation.

[@gerdahuertas26]

So many important truths! I hope you succeed. Great talk. So much knowledge almost lost. Could be our future.

[@jamesparson]

I hope so too. When that knowledge is gone, it is gone.

[@colinsmith5879]

This guy absolutely rocks. So many great points made here.

[@cynthiabasil8356]

Of wondered about this for a long time. MN has a large indigenous population. It would be awesome to see some new restaurants.

[@RiverWoods111]

Is there any place that doesn't have a huge indigenous population in the Americas?

[@mud213]

@@RiverWoods111 New England in general, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, South Carolina. There are parts of the US where they were so systematically killed or otherwise pushed west that there are almost no natives to that region.

[@michaelcastano2746]

He now has the most popular restaurant in Minnesota called Owamni. By far some of the best food I've had

[@1nv1c7u5m4n30]

This man is a genius and stating what so many of us have been thinking our whole lives. Kudos!

[@nawatlsol]

Brave man. Thank you for this!

[@cherylgriffith2682]

Thank you for your talk. I am so with you. I'm old now, somehow I've always known the value of indigenous cultures in knowing how to live on this planet in a well way. I have always wanted to run away and join one. Have real food and real medicine with real people

[@michellezevenaar]

Lots of foods common in Europe are from the Americas, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate! Imagine Italian food without tomatoes!

[@PhoenyxAshe]

Italian without tomatoes doesn't bother me so much these days - tomatoes don't like me so much anymore. But I have nightmares about a world without chocolate!

[@mokshalani8414]

They used to make pasta sauces out of seasonal fruit, isn't it weird how we've forgotten that about as much as we have indigenous American foods?

[@erinaa9486]

@@mokshalani8414 oh I just saw a KZbinr make strawberry sauce for pasta!!! Didn't know that's why!

[@greenmachine5600]

@@mokshalani8414 no. Because native American food is a much larger and closer topic to me

[@danagray9709]

Funny how that works. Someone grows a basic form of a vegetable, then someone else perfects that food and shows how it could be best used. Native American food isn't common because it's mostly bland foods which were made for the most basic of subsistence diets.

[@justme-dm7sb]

I am so glad you did this. Telling the truth sometimes is not taken as well as these people seemed to take it. You are so right about the food too. i live in the Pacific Northwest and there is so many things to eat in the forests, mountains and praries. Plants and animals. We not only need to plant everything that can grow, we need to promote wildlife. If we continue to only take from the earth there will soon be nothing for it to give. If we give to it all things good it will give us and the animals what we need. Everything I do is for the earth.

[@shatteredshards8549]

"Lawns are fucking stupid" - no truer words. Grass lawns literally became a thing because well-to-do people decided they wanted a way to show off their wealth by using their land to plant something useless, making a statement to all their neighbors that they did not need to grow their own food to survive.

[@dynamicworlds1]

And only gets dumber in areas that aren't as wet as England and need more than the occasional trim to be maintained.

[@AmandaFromWisconsin]

Should people with lawns be insulted by this?

[@croaker6099]

@@AmandaFromWisconsin enlightened?

[@diegos.loayza3706]

@@AmandaFromWisconsin yes

[@system.machine]

This is so astonishingly relevant to what is happening in many areas of the world right now.

[@michel3691]

This is an excellent discussion with straight up facts that aren't discussed often enough.

[@ilovetenchi21]

Tomatoes, potatoes, corn, squash, beans, peppers, wild rice, berries, maple sugar, venison, rabbit, bison

[@michellezevenaar]

I have a pear tree and rosemary growing in my front yard! In my back yard i have an apple tree, fig tree, raspberrys, herbs, Jerusalem artichokes and probably others im forgetting. Even with all this there is still enough space for my daughter to play!

[@MooMan1374]

Your kids can name more K-pop bands than trees and it's your fault. LOL. Love it!

[@austincde]

I felt attacked personally and I don't even have kids lol

[@jackielinde7568]

"But basically, anything moving around is literally game." See? See! I told you my sedentary lifestyle had advantages! If I don't move, I can't be mistaken for being a white tail deer during hunting season by some drunk hunter!

[@thoughtfuldevil6069]

I have never considered this question and now it's all I can think about

[@greggoldman893]

Metro Denver has a wonderful restaurant called Tocabe, beans, rice, squash, fry bread. Hmm mmm good!

[@688lina]

It is so good! I love Tocabe.

[@jjn6914]

This was brilliant and so important! If any middle or high school teacher or administrator sees this, s/he should fold this TedTalk as part of their curriculum for social science and general science.

[@robertlimanek2033]

More Native American food, absolutely! I am an American architect who teaches sustainability, so I have some experience with causes. I have two suggestions. I think your talk should be 50% about the sad story and 50% about what a Native American food menu might look like. If it's too complicated just pick one or two regions from you map and give examples. My other ideas concern how to start. It seems like the best way is with a food truck, like a taco truck, instead of a restaurant. It could be taken to Farmer's markets, where your likely audience sympathetic to trying "new," healthful foods might be, or to festivals, wherever. Another place might be to introduce in school cafeterias. A Native American food day once a month? I believe there would be grants for such an endeavor. Good luck!

[@yohei72]

This question has occurred to me a few times, so I'm glad to see this. I went to a Native American restaurant when I was on vacation in Quebec City a few years ago, but I've never seen another one.

[@utisti4976]

Native fry bread is probably among one of the best breads you'll ever get to try. It's so simple but so good. :D

[@Warrior_Resisting_Colonialism]

True, but it's still colonial food and not what he's talking about here. That came due from making rations last with what little government handouts they threw at us.

[@dessfred]

Yeah, this bread is seen all over the different native nations. The Innu from where I live calls it "banick"

[@meman6964]

Love Navajo food, we were there with Elder Hostel class taught by Navajo teachers. Three sisters, corn, beans, squash backbone of healthy eating. True, fry bread and fried anything are not native thru history.

[@sanjuro913]

You need to come to long house and have kanienkeha corn bread, that’s the best bread you can have, free of European history.

[@greenmachine5600]

If Europeans can have ingredients from the the Americas in their "traditional" food, then so can indigenous people in the Americas. Fry bread is definitely traditional.

[@bryaneberly3588]

A chef and a storyteller. Thank you for your voice, cousin.

[@kardinalempress]

Action is louder than applause!!

[@theflyingcrud]

This is a fantastic talk! I luckily was taught as a kid about the native plants where I live. I try to pass on that knowledge whenever I get the opportunity. As a bonus, when you go on a hike there is free and delicious food all around you!

[@slatkish5]

Unfortunately, “being forced to” still sets a precedent how US government still treats small countries today.

[@noeraldinkabam]

Precedent

[@slatkish5]

@@noeraldinkabam Thx, I corrected it. ☺️

[@ronaldodoamaral3377]

In Brazil, cassava/manioc/tapioca is an indiginous food that "survived" and all Brazilians nowadays love it. The same goes for "açaí". Although it is true we don't have indigenous restaurants neither. Loved that idea of indigenous restaurants, hope it spreads around!

[@harmless6813]

The history lesson was informative. Everyone growing food in their backyard is not scalable however. The reason we can create all this technology today is in no small part because not so many people have to work at producing food any more. Still, more native restaurants sounds awesome. We have cuisine from all over the world available; adding Native American food to the mix would definitely be welcome.

[@swamp-yankee]

I've heard we have 40-50 million acres in mowed lawns in the States.... That is large scale.

[@BronsteinEmily]

A lot of plants that already grow up in our backyards are edible. We call them weeds. So we already grow foods in our backyards. We just aren't taught to recognize it and we pull it and throw it out or spray poison on it so our lawns will be perfect. It Is more scalable than you think.

[@ericgouw]

One of the best talks on TED ever.

[@Bella-ep4sp]

Am proud of you and all the people how work to talk about there history and there traditions

[@Oracle_Ocelot]

Such an awesome talk. Shows how food IS history and how food shapes history

[@y0nd3r]

I would love to see Native restaurants.

[@jnak974]

It annoys me when people say Americans have no culture. The original Americans have a wealth of culture!

[@museinglis1979]

Sustainability…using what you have…Bison! Yup! 👍🏿 In Japan, even today, rice and soy beans are used in a myriad of applications. Rice: glue, paper, tatami floor mats, window privacy screens (Shoji), etc…

[@tornado649]

This whole discussion is needed and necessary. I appreciate this history lesson and deeply saddened by these actions

[@septegram]

Glad I live in Minneapolis. We'll be trying your restaurant!

[@susanfanning9480]

I wish! But I'm far away. I really hope you get there. I'm jealous!

[@septegram]

@@susanfanning9480 Went there last night. Food was delicious! They have a cookbook, too 😁

[@myinnerandromeda7011]

Oh wow.💜 Quite possibly the Best Ted I've ever watched! Please move to Canada and become our next Prime Minister today❣

[@sierranex]

Why don't we hear more about native Americans overall? This always baffles me when I hear about what's going on in the US. Am I missing something or can someone please explain?

[@awesomevedios3141]

Hi I'm 18 from Pakistan I wanna come to USA will you be my best friend to meet you and help me there actually I don't know places in America I don't have relatives in USA and I wanna study over there my age is 18 so I applied for scholorship but they recommend me half scholorship can you please help me you are american??? I'm humble person I'm 18 I don't know anything what should I do please be my friend? And guide me little about my study please??

[@artyomarty391]

I've lived in US for 17 years. American Indians are just a very rare sight. They mostly live in the country and from my experience they're always drunk and/or dont want anything at all in life. You will meet them in the midwest in certain parks that are owned by indians and occasionally you might run across a few in a bar located somewhere in the mountains

[@debbieomi]

@@artyomarty391 oh my! How horrible that has been your experiences with the Natives of America. I live in an area of the northern lower peninsula of Michigan. I don't know what the population is here but perhaps larger than other regions. As with any nationality, there will be some who fit the bill of a stereotype but most will not. I love that the indigenous folks in my region are making process through their ownership of casinos and its benefitting the education and welfare of the people. They are people just like me who work to take care of their families and communities while celebrating the rich yet incredibly sad history of their people. I hope that you experience relationships with regular Native folk who can expand your horizons.

[@artyomarty391]

@@debbieomi why would my horizons need to be expanded? My experience has been that american indians are just pretty lazy non ambitious people compared to others. Yours experience was different, great, I appreciate your feedback. But why would I need to "expand my horizons"? You meant to say, in order to become smart like you and think like you, then I must expand my horizons. In other words, your horizons are exanded but mine arent? I think you've expanded your ego instead of your horizons. If I wanted to learn about American Indian culture or meet more Indians I would, I just dont see the point. There are many cultures I dont know or peoples I've not met, why are American Indians more important? I could care less if people understand my Russian heritage, and I dont expect anyone to "expand their horizons" by learning about it There shouldnt be a problem with saying something bad about a group of people. American indians are indeed pretty lazy. I cant think of a more lazy group actually. Its a chill lifestyle.

[@alanlight7740]

American Indians are first of all very small in number, making up only 0.7% of the U.S. population. These in turn are divided among more than 500 officially recognized tribes scattered across the United States, many in rural areas that are generally ignored by the media. Factor in that many live on reservations where alcoholism is a very serious issue ... and there's not a whole lot to report at the national level, unfortunately.

[@dthwsh1899]

First TED talk I've watched all the way through in a while. Glad it was based on true history, discovery, education and utilitarianism and NOT politics.

[@Misswho5]

This is super educational

[@Karri49]

I donated to Downey/Wajac Canadian Indigenous foundation as my heart broke for all the school children’s graves that were found! I would whole heartedly support any Native American (I have family in Texas) and Canadian Native Restaurants. Love to try foods from peoples who belong to the Western world and who honoured and respected our land, rivers and lakes unlike us whites who pollute it at every opportunity without a care! But not I and many others! 🇨🇦🇺🇸🥲❤️❤️❤️

[@giraffe1219]

I really would love to know what America would look like had it never been colonized. Or was treated with more respect.

[@remyllebeau77]

Or didn't have warring tribes massacring each other? They'd probably still be in the stone ages.

[@MindlessTube]

Land that big with that much resources would be taken over. Unless you think you can police the whole world and tell them to leave that land alone.

[@Prince_the_One]

@@MindlessTube Plenty of countries visited and traded with American Indians, including Africa, and didn't feel the need to eradicate their culture and almost extinct them and enslave them.

[@MindlessTube]

@@Prince_the_One Sure, But its just a matter of time, as technology grows becomes more easy to take over land. Native lands existed around the whole world not just America, of course of different cultures, and were all eventually taken over.

[@giraffe1219]

@@MindlessTube all I said was I wonder what it’d be like. Hypotheticals don’t have to be 100% realistic :/

[@chrisholzhauer3698]

This ought to have millions of views. This man is speaking knowledge! Pass this along! Native or not, we all need to know this!