U.S. Department of Agriculture took time at the Tribal nation's summit in Washington to announce its continued commitment to native peoples.
USDA shared its actions to better serve Tribal governments, citizens and organizations and honor the nation's trust and treaty responsibility, during the White House Tribal Nations Summit Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, according to a Nov. 30 USDA news release. This summit comes one year after President Joe Biden reinstated the event.
"USDA is honored to work alongside the sovereign governments of American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal Nations," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in the news release. "We continue to make our programs and services more accessible and include Indigenous viewpoints in program design and delivery."
USDA declared the formation of a permanent Tribal Advisory Committee to facilitate regular access to USDA decision-makers for native peoples, according to the release. The committee, authorized by the 2018 Farm Bill, will advise USDA's secretary on topics important to Tribal producers as is intended to compliment ongoing government-to-government consultation.
USDA also acted on Tribal leaders' requests by announcing the Tribal College/1994 Program's move to the Office of Tribal Relations, the release reported.
USDA considers itself "a leader in empowering tribal self-determination," the news release said. USDA has awarded $5.7 million to eight tribes for demonstration projects that open more options to select and purchase foods for their Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations or Tribal commodities programs.
"This is an important step to increasing Tribal food sovereignty in the program and support Tribal economies, vendors and producers," the news release said.
