David W. "Famous Dave" Anderson, best known as the founder of the Famous Dave's and Old Southern BBQ Smokehouse restaurant chains, is a former Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs in the George W. Bush administration. As Assistant Secretary, he had jurisdiction over the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Office of Indian Education Programs (now the Bureau of Indian Education).

Anderson is a Choctaw and Ojibwe Indian, and lives in Edina, Minnesota. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up there as well as on reservations in Wisconsin. Famous Dave Anderson now travels the country speaking and is the author of several award-winning books.

Famous Dave understands what it’s like when the odds are against you. A Native American kid at the bottom half of high school class, he didn’t have a whole lot of opportunities, but he had dreams and perseverance. His goal: create the best BBQ America ever tasted.

BBQ was a passion he caught from his dad, a Southerner working the construction trades in the windy city. They always knew where to find the best ribs: the street-corner vendors with their 55 gallon smokers, cooking it up in the tradition of the deep South.

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