Dana Thompson
by Angelique Zerillo, CG
Dana Thompson is a perfect example of a polymath. She is an artist. She is an entrepreneur. She is a humanitarian.
Polymath is a slightly fancy, ten-dollar word that describes someone with multiple skills and talents. And in contrast to what “renaissance man” and “jack of all trades” communicate, the term polymath offers a slightly less gendered description of Dana, capturing the unique intersection of intellect, drive, and desire this human has in impacting the world for the better.
Dana and I recently sat together on an unusually warm and sunny Sunday afternoon as vendor guests at Oysterfest, a street festival held at the end of September, hosted by Meritage, a revered restaurant in St. Paul. We were invited to offer Meritage’s 21+ customers, a happy crowd slurping bivalves, a chance to try hemp-derived, non-alcoholic beverage options over a glass (or two) of wine.
We gently educated hundreds of guests at the street fest that afternoon on the benefits of consuming the cannabis plant in liquid form, encouraging those interested and curious to consider it as a can-swap-in-the-hand option. The beverages were a welcome alternative for many in attendance. Harm reduction, we can call it now—ounce by ounce.
Dana Thompson, founder of Heti Beverages, has spent over a decade championing food sovereignty and Indigenous food systems. A lineal descendant of the Wahpeton-Sisseton and Mdewakanton Dakota tribes, Thompson's work is rooted in honoring ancestral wisdom, building bridges between traditional knowledge and contemporary needs.
Her journey through the culinary world has been marked by both critical acclaim and purposeful impact. She co-founded Owamni, the Minneapolis restaurant that captured the 2022 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant in the United States. This was a groundbreaking achievement for Indigenous cuisine. It proved the power of decolonized ingredients (no sugar, no wheat, no dairy, none of the standard pillars that Western cuisine is built on) in fine dining. Thompson served as a founding member of the leadership committee on the James Beard Foundation Investment Fund for Black and Indigenous Americans. Her board work extends her commitment to creating systemic change that supports Indigenous communities and food systems.
Thompson also co-founded NĀTIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems), a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing Native foodways. NĀTIFS addresses economic and health crises in Indigenous communities through education, training, and partnerships with Indigenous food providers.
Currently, Thompson serves as Vice Chair on the board of directors of the nonprofit Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, formerly Friends of the Falls. This Dakota-led organization works to transform five acres of federal land near St. Anthony Falls in downtown Minneapolis. Their mission centers on cultural and environmental restoration at Owámniyomni, the Dakota name for the falls. The organization embeds Dakota values—like mni wičóni, or water is life—into communal existence. Through this work, Thompson helps create a future where Dakota culture has a vital presence in the heart of Minneapolis. The project represents Indigenous reclamation and healing of sacred lands.
Thompson's latest venture, Heti—meaning "home" in the Dakota language—represents an evolution in her mission. This brand makes Indigenous botanicals and sustainable practices accessible through mainstream consumer packaged goods.
Launched in 2024, Heti produces hemp-derived, low-dose THC and CBD beverages featuring unique ingredients like cedar, dandelion leaf, and sumac, along with recognizable botanicals like black currant, blueberries, cranberries, and mint. These products are unique compared to consumer packaged goods and ready-to-drink offerings. They contain no refined sugars, offering a lower glycemic index impact on blood sugar than most other canned beverage options.
Thompson created Heti not merely as a beverage company but as a social impact brand. It embodies the Indigenous principle of seven generations. This is the idea that decisions made today should benefit descendants seven generations into the future. This philosophy permeates every aspect of the business, from ingredient sourcing to revenue allocation. The company commits a percentage of revenue to developing sustainable housing for Indigenous community members. The brand serves as a bridge. It introduces mainstream consumers to ancestral foods and botanicals while building awareness and security in tribal communities, with particular focus on supporting Indigenous women.
"Historically, Indigenous communities had a deep reverence for women," said Thompson. "They were revered as healers, seed keepers, craftswomen, and the heart of the community, but the trauma of genocide and the [forced] residential schools created a trampling of the female spirit. Because of this, I intend to spend all of my energy with the support of my own ancestors to continue to lift up Indigenous women." - Dana Thompson, Fuelers of the Indigenous Food Movement, Sweet July Magazine, February 2024
This October, Thompson received the 2025-2026 Minnesota Retail Association's Retail Champion Award in Social Responsibility. The award honors her commitment to building business models that prioritize community impact alongside profitability, acknowledging entrepreneurs who demonstrate exceptional dedication to social responsibility within the retail sector. The award validates her belief that consumer packaged goods can serve as small vehicles for cultural preservation and environmental stewardship.
Dana recently traveled to Osaka, Japan, on a design delegation tour of Expo 2025 to prepare for the 2031 World Horticultural Expo, which will be hosted in Dakota County, Minnesota. This marks the first time an exhibition of this nature will be hosted in the United States, an international recognition and nod to Minnesota's unique place in the country as an agricultural leader. The 2031 Expo, themed Human/Nature, will creatively connect the dots between humanity and horticulture, highlighting the critical roles that plants play in our world through edible, environmental, medicinal, and ornamental lenses for attendees.
Dana serves as co-chair of the food production and sustainable food supply committee, one of eight unique areas the exposition will develop immersive, interactive spaces within a 90+ hectare site along the Mississippi River. The 2031 Expo will highlight Global Connection, Public Greenspace, Indigenous Plantscape, American Panorama, Green Well-Being, Sustainable Food Supply, Green Future Tech, and Multimedia Edutainment. The six-month-long event is expected to attract more than 4 million visitors.
Like other forward-thinking international events such as the Olympics and World Fairs, the goal of this exhibition is to connect cultures, celebrate and inspire innovation, and demonstrate how the well-being of both humans and nature is intrinsically linked. For Dana, participating in this delegation supports her goal of bringing more circular thinking into consumer packaged goods production and the designed and built world.
All parts of the hemp plant can be used as raw material for other industries. In one use case, redirecting the hemp hurd (the interior, woody part of the plant's stalk) toward hempcrete construction is a material she is promoting for use in building parts of the 2031 exhibition. Hempcrete, while not in mass commercial use yet as a building material, offers excellent insulating, moisture-regulating, fire-retardant, pest control, air quality, carbon sequestration, and energy cost savings due to its thermal mass properties.
Thompson's vision extends beyond individual products to reimagine entire systems. Her advocacy for hempcrete demonstrates how circular economy principles can address modern environmental challenges. This honors the traditional practice of using all parts of a plant. It eliminates waste while creating new economic opportunities. This approach challenges the extractive models that dominate Western food and product development.
Through her multifaceted work spanning award-winning restaurants, nonprofit leadership, beverage innovation, and international exposition planning, Dana Thompson models a new paradigm for entrepreneurship. She refuses to separate profit from purpose, innovation from tradition, or personal success from community well-being. Her influence extends the reach of Indigenous food sovereignty into mainstream markets. She makes decolonized ingredients and sustainable practices increasingly accessible and desirable to broader audiences.
"I want to be a model for other people to make a difference in the world," Thompson says. In every venture she undertakes, she proves that business can be a force for cultural preservation, environmental restoration, and social healing.
To learn more about Heti, Owámniyomni Okhódayapi, or the 2031 World Horticultural Expo:
https://hetiproducts.com/
https://owamniyomni.org/
