[1] See the map of food insecurity, Native American reservations that continue to lack access to food. In the 1970s, the federal government created the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) as part of the Food Stamp Act. FDPIR gave Native people living in rural reservations an alternative to the food stamp program, which required participants to shop in grocery stores, which often did not exist on most reservation or required as much as a full day of travel. Today, more than 25 percent of all Native Americans receive some type of federal food assistance and FDPIR serves 276 tribes across the country.
[2] One stark example of this demise is the once abundant bison, which were nearly slaughtered to extinction within just a few decades in the late 1800s. The slaughter of the bison was one of the largest economic shocks in recorded North American history (Feir, Gillezeua, and Jones 2019). For the Native Americans who relied on the bison, this sudden loss meant devastating upheaval. Their diets deteriorated and they would suffer long-term health impacts and disparities. Research shows that bison-reliant people were once the tallest people in the world, but the generations born after the slaughter were among the shortest. Not only did they lose their economic livelihoods, but valuable social contacts as well. Today, formerly bison-reliant societies now have between 20-40% less income per capita than the average Native American nation.
[3] Reservation poverty and food insecurity also have legacies linked to family separation, relocation, and poor health outcomes. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, most reservation communities suffered from dreadful poverty conditions (Meriam Report 1928). Without their traditional ways of hunting, gathering, and fishing, they had no way to feed themselves, and the federal government was compelled to supply basic foodstuff. These food rations, called commodities or “commods,” consisted of food packaged in cans and boxes, and ingredients unfamiliar to most Native people, like white flour, shortening, and sugar. Shipments of commodities often arrived late or were too moldy to consume.
Sadly, the commodity program exacerbated health problems and malnutrition were exacerbated. The food supplied was of marginal nutritional value and the supply was often insufficient to feed large multi-generational family households. Children and the elderly were constantly hungry, and the health of reservation communities slowly deteriorated. When tribal governments could not provide better food options for their families, many parents reluctantly sent their children to boarding schools to ensure they would at least be fed. In this way, persistent hunger and food insecurity has contributed to the breakup of Native families.
[4] According to the map of food insecurity, among all 3,142 US counties, three Native communities rank in the top ten counties facing the highest level of food insecurity: Kusilvak Census Area in Alaska (26.8%), followed by Todd County, South Dakota, homelands of the Rosebud Tribe (26.4%), and Oglala County, South Dakota, homelands of Oglala Lakota Sioux and the Pine Ridge Reservation (25.9%).
[5] Sorhaindo, A., & Feinstein, L. (2006). What is the relationship between child nutrition and school outcomes. Wider Benefits of Learning Research Report No.18. Centre for Research on the Wider Benefits of Learning.
One of the most extensive studies of the health outcomes was the Carolina Abecedarian Project, which followed two groups of babies from poor families beginning in 1972. In the first group, the children were given full-time day care up to age 5 that included most of their daily meals, games, and other stimulating activities. The other group received baby formula and no additional social or educational stimulation. The study examined whether additional treatment impacted cognitive abilities in the long run. Forty-two years later, the researchers found that the group that received an enriched learning experience were far healthier. The study, published in the journal Science, is part of a growing body of scientific evidence that adversity in early childhood has lifelong health implications. This and other studies not only outline the problem in concrete details, they also offer evidence that policies targeted to providing enriched nutrition and educational experiences, especially in the early years, might prevent it.
[6] See also, Patrice H. Kunesh, The Power of Self-Determination in Building Sustainable Economies in Indian Country, The Economic Policy Institute (2022).
