Inclusion of Tribal-specific provisions provide new opportunities for Tribal self-governance and self-determination
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Chairman Cole Miller and Intertribal Agriculture Council CEO Kari Jo Lawrence, Co-Chairs of the Native Farm Bill Coalition released the following statement regarding this week’s release of bill summaries by the House Agriculture Committee Republicans and the Senate Agriculture Committee Democrats:
“Indian Country is a leading force in American agriculture, with more than 80,000 individual Native producers contributing $6.4 billion to the industry. In many rural communities, Tribes are the main economic drivers of development and infrastructure, requiring Tribally-tailored support from USDA. We are excited to see positive momentum in discussions surrounding the next Farm Bill including Tribal-specific provisions in both the House and Senate bill summaries.
We appreciate the bipartisan efforts to ensure that measures which are important to Tribes and Native producers were included in the bill summaries; however, more could be done to address the critical needs of Indian Country in the Farm Bill. We look forward to working with Congress to further strengthen provisions that expand Tribal self-determination and self-governance, prioritize Tribal sovereignty, promote parity, eliminate unnecessary barriers to nutrition assistance programs, and increase access to critical USDA programs.”
About the Native Farm Bill Coalition
The Native Farm Bill Coalition (NFBC) brings together Tribes, intertribal organizations, other Native organizations and non-Native allies around the country to advocate for policy changes that would strengthen Tribal self-governance, build regional food economies, support Tribal stewardship over natural resources, create new economic development opportunities, and much more. The NFBC was co-founded in 2017 by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, the Intertribal Agriculture Council, and the National Congress of American Indians, with the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative serving as the Coalition’s official research partn