Cedar-braised bison over manoomin (hand-harvested wild rice) is the canonical Indigenous Minneapolis dish: gamy bison shoulder slow-cooked over wood, plated with smoky lake-grown rice.

The Twin Cities sit on Dakota land. Indigenous foodways were largely absent from the city's published restaurants until Sean Sherman, Oglala Lakota, opened Owamni on the Mississippi at Mill District in 2021, then relocated and rebranded the kitchen as Indigena by Owamni inside the Guthrie Theater in June 2026. The kitchen runs a strict no-Old-World-ingredient program: no wheat, no dairy, no sugarcane, no chicken or pork. Bison, salmon, manoomin, sumac and tepary beans replace the European pantry. Owamni won the James Beard Best New Restaurant award in 2022. Manoomin is harvested by Anishinaabe families on lakes north of Mille Lacs each September.

1 editor pick for Cedar-braised bison with wild rice in Minneapolis, ranked by editorial score. All Minneapolis signature dishes · Cedar-braised bison with wild rice across every city.

Indigena by Owamni ★ 4.9

$$$AmericanMill District

Sean Sherman's Indigena by Owamni inside the Guthrie Theater runs the country's most serious Indigenous kitchen in Minneapolis since June 2026.

OrderBison steak with smoked blue corn and the maple-glazed walleye when in season.

TipDoubled in size from Water Works; 204 indoor seats plus 100 patio. Book three months ahead for weekend dinner; bar seats walk-in at 17:00.

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