![\"skydancebrewing\"](\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/13\/skydancebrewing.jpg\")
\r\n<\/p>\r\nOklahoma\u2019s first Native American-owned brewing company, inspired by the recipes of the owner\u2019s father, will open an independent location this summer.
<\/p>\r\nJacob Keyes, a member of the Iowa Nation, opened SkyDance Brewing Co.<\/a> in 2018 in honor of his father. Since then, the brewery has been operating out of a co-op \u2013 a single location where multiple companies use the same equipment \u2013 in Oklahoma City. The new taproom and brewery<\/a> are under construction in the historic Automobile Alley north of downtown.\r\n <\/p>\r\nSkyDance produces five brews, along with a few seasonal beers, such as Sovereign Nation, inspired by the United States\u2019 recognition of tribes as sovereign nations. The beer is distributed to gas stations and small bars in the Oklahoma City area. <\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\nKeyes said he and his father had always wanted to open their own brewery. One day, Keyes found one of his father\u2019s beer recipes and made a batch. His friends insisted he enter it into a competition, which he won. That evening, Keyes\u2019 brother called him to say their father had died. <\/p>\r\n\u201cI felt like it was a sign I had to start the brewery,\u201d said Keyes, who\u2019s from Purcell, Oklahoma, and has been involved with the Iowa tribe since he was young. Before starting the brewery, he worked in the casino industry. <\/p>\r\n\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for the work I did in the gaming industry,\u201d he said, \u201cI would not have seen all these Native Americans owning and operating their own businesses. It really helped encourage me to do the same.\u201d <\/p>\r\nKeyes said he had some mental hurdles to jump before he could fully commit to opening his own business. <\/p>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re told that … Native Americans aren\u2019t meant to participate in the business world,\u201d he said. \u201cWe need to overcome that mindset. I had to.\u201d <\/p>![\"jacobkeyes\"](\"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/13\/jacobkeyes.jpg\")
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