OKLAHOMA CITY – Soon Native American Tribes across the United States could have greater autonomy in the way their citizens are distributed food. House Bill 3956, or the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) Act of 2025, will amend the 2018 Farm Bill by authorizing the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into self-determination contracts with Tribes. The bill modifies a FDPIR pilot program which is currently being utilized by 16 tribes including the Cherokee Nation and the Chickasaw Nation. Its goal is to provide greater access to healthy foods for Tribal communities.
FDPIR currently provides food to eligible families living on reservations and serves as an alternative to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). According to the bill, Indian Entities, or Tribes and Tribal Organizations, can negotiate and enter into self-determination contracts or self-governance agreements. Tribes can purchase agricultural commodities under the food distribution program for their reservation and administer programs, functions, services or activities related to their food distribution operations.
Tribes will be able to select the foods received in food packages, including domestically-sourced foods and will be able to establish direct contracts with the vendors that produce them. Data on how the Cherokee Nation and the Chickasaw Nation have benefited from the program has been published online.
According to the USDA’s website, Tribally-procured foods the Cherokee Nation has distributed includes beef chuck roast and ground beef chubs. These were distributed for a total of 36 months and were purchased through the 1839 Cherokee Meat Company…