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Oklahoma Tribes Highlighted for Successful Cattle & Bison Meat Processing Plants


Adrian Sinclair, plant manager at the 1839 Cherokee Meat Co. in Tahlequah, Oklahoma (Photo source: Ben Felder/Investigate Midwest)


October 16, 2024 - Public News Service


The Public News Service featured NFBC Members, including the Osage Nation, Cherokee Nation, and Muscogee (Creek) Nation, for their growth and success in establishing Tribally-owned meat processing plants across the state of Oklahoma. The article titled, “OK Tribes' meat processing plants reverse historic ag consolidation” highlights resources from the NFBC's Gaining Ground Report as well as an interview with NFBC Council Member Abi Fain. Read an excerpt of the article:


Over the past four years, the Osage, Cherokee and Muscogee (Creek) nations have opened USDA-inspected processing plants in eastern Oklahoma, joining the Quapaw Nation, which opened its own facility seven years ago. Another tribe, the Choctaw Nation, has invested in a recently opened facility in southern Oklahoma.


Supply chain challenges during the early months of COVID-19 inspired many of the Tribes to build their own plants, and some used federal pandemic relief funds for initial construction. Using cattle and bison from their own ranches, the Tribes are processing meat to supply their daycare centers, senior homes and hotels, as well as some low-income meal programs they operate with federal funding.


Several indigenous agriculture groups have pushed for Congress to add more support for Tribal-led meat production in the next Farm Bill, not just through grants but also access to credit.


"Congress should ensure that loan and loan guarantee opportunities are available for the development of meat, poultry, fish, and seafood processing facilities in Indian Country," the Native Farm Bill Coalition, a group advocating for federal policies, argued in its 2022 "Gaining Ground" report. "Access to credit will assist Tribal communities in developing regional food systems and support tribal member access to traditional, affordable, and nutritional sources of protein."


Abi Fain, chief legal and policy officer for the Intertribal Agriculture Council, said the federal government should also look for ways to increase training for meatpacking jobs and USDA inspectors, especially since it can be hard to fill positions in rural communities, where many Tribes are located.


"If you are in Muscogee you may only be 30 minutes from Tulsa," said Fain, referring to the location of Muscogee (Creek) Nation's meat processing center, Looped Square Meat Company, located about 25 miles south of the state's second-largest city. "But in other parts of Indian country that is not the case. In some Tribes in South Dakota you may be two hours from the nearest city or nearest town."


Fain said she expects the number of Tribal-run meat packing plants to increase, even among Tribal communities that have not traditionally been involved in agriculture production. Gaining more control over local food systems is enticing for Tribes when they see the success others are having, she added.


"Food is power," Fain said, "and having control over your food sources is the difference between independence or subjugation."


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