This event is part of the 8th Annual Beer Culture Summit which explores the theme of Rethinking America at 250.

Every beer begins with the land and the stories tied to it.

This one-night conversation brings together leading voices in brewing and Indigenous studies to explore how ingredients, place, and heritage shape more than just what’s in your glass. At the center is a powerful question: how do relationships to land and history influence the way beer is made and who and how do we tell those stories?

For Shyla Sheppard and Missy Begay of Bow & Arrow Brewing, the discussion highlights a contemporary Native business perspective rooted in Indigenous ingredients, ancestral foodways, and relationships to land. Their work demonstrates how brewing can reconnect people with regional ingredients and traditional knowledge systems while remaining fully engaged with modern craft brewing. Just as importantly, Bow & Arrow uses beer as a platform for storytelling and myth-busting, often challenging outdated perceptions and demonstrating that Native cultures and Native entrepreneurship are vibrant, innovative, and active today.

Matt Gallagher of Suncatcher Brewing offers a complementary lens grounded in local agriculture and collaboration. His approach reflects a growing movement in craft brewing, one that reconnects beer to farmers, grain, and hops, and rethinks brewing as a relationship to place rather than just a product.

Moderated by Madison Bastress, Director of the D’Arcy McNickle Center for American Indian and Indigenous Studies at the Newberry Library, the conversation draws on Indigenous history and public scholarship to guide a broader discussion of stewardship, storytelling, and thoughtful, responsible engagement with land and culture.

This event will be the first time Bow & Arrow beer will be available in Chicago or anywhere east of the Mississippi River.