The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced a five-day consultation series called USDA Tribal Consultations on Barriers/Equity: Annual Progress Report and Feedback for Next Steps.
The consultation will follow up on the March consultations held in response to President Joe Biden’s executive order on advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities, according to the April 4 USDA press release.
“For too long, tribal nations and individuals have had barriers to USDA services and programs,” USDA Office of Tribal Relations Director Heather Dawn Thompson said. “In addition to these consultations, we are conducting a top-to-bottom review of our statutory authorities to see where we can empower tribal nations and support tribal self-determination through our programs.”
According to the release, tribal leaders have requested the department affirm how the staff is incorporating tribal input on barriers to effectively accessing programs. During the consultation, USDA consulting officials will go over the progress made since last year’s consultation and discuss potential solutions for ongoing issues with tribal nation representatives.
As part of the measures taken, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack directed USDA to explore opportunities to expand tribal self-determination across USDA programming. The USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service awarded $3.5 million to eight tribal nations for a project that allows them to purchase some of the foods for their tribe through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations for the first time, according to the release.
The release states each day of the consultations will highlight different themes that are priority areas for the Biden-Harris administration. Focus areas include economic development, April 11; food, safety and tradde, April 12; farming, ranching and conservation, April 14; forests and public lands, April 15; and education and research, April 18.
