Over the past 18 months, craft beer has seen a rerouted trajectory becoming more inclusive with diversity, equity, inclusion, and representation. Native American breweries are using a powerful tool for education and sharing identity, an approachable way to bring people together, and using taprooms to act as community hubs that come with art and iconography to tell a story. This is being seen in several Native American owned breweries including Bow & Arrow Brewing in Albuquerque, Skydance Brewing in Oklahoma City, 7 Clans Brewing in Cherokee, North Carolina, and Rincon Reservation Road Brewery in Valley Center and Ocean Beach, California. These breweries are building a strong narrative for Indigenous people all while reclaiming their own identities in the community.

“We’ve really tried to build a place where when people come into the taproom, they’re completely immersed in the culture,” says Skydance Brewing founder Jacob Keyes. “My dad always told me that his favorite thing about beer is that ‘good beer brings good people together.’”

Morgan Crisp, who is Cherokee, faced resistance when founding 7 Clans. In addition to some members of her community citing the complicated history with alcohol as a reason to petition for 7 Clans to change its name, Crisp says she also met with a reluctance for her tribe’s culture to be shared so openly in a form as novel as craft beer.

“The sharing of our culture is sometimes scrutinized [within our community],” Crisp says. “It’s so precious, and there’s so much of it that’s been taken away. Any time you’re sharing it outside of your community, it kind of raises some eyebrows. Imagine doing that and putting it on a beer can and waiting and seeing what happens.”

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