Copyright cherokeephoenix
Over one million American Indian and Alaska Native people and 42 million Americans will be impacted if funding lapses for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as the government shutdown persists. On Oct. 10, a U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary memo confirmed current funding is set to lapse on Nov. 1 if an agreement isn’t reached to end the government shutdown – which is now the second longest in American history. “It’s just a matter of time that those food banks start running out of food,” said Bobby Gonzalez, chairman of the Caddo Nation, which is located over 56 miles west of Oklahoma City. “This is a huge deal, especially when an economy is already strapped.” What this would mean is SNAP benefits, which are used by 24 percent of American Indian and Alaska Native households, may be reduced or stopped on Nov. 1, a message that health and human services officials from several states have warned will happen. “SNAP impacts everyone across the nation, and here in Oklahoma we have over 700,000 residents of all ethnicities and races that (use SNAP),” Gonzalez said. “Poverty here in Oklahoma is real and so is food insecurity.” The Trump Administration could take steps to prevent this funding from lapsing, according to USDA’s “Lapse of Funding Plan” issued on Sept. 30. The plan states SNAP’s October benefits were funded in September, which came from 2025 appropriations. However, the report also says, “Multi-year contingency funds are also available to fund participant benefits in the event that a lapse occurs in the middle of the fiscal year.” The USDA has since removed this plan from the official government website, but other news sources have reuploaded it such as AgriPulse, an agricultural newspaper based in Washington, D.C. Additionally, the United States was able earlier in October to allocate an additional $300 million to the Special Supplemental Nutrition for Women, Infants and Children program, also issued by the USDA. This funding came from the Child Nutrition Account, which provides school lunches. According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research institute, the USDA would be able to use its discretion to transfer whatever amount possible to the SNAP contingency the same way it was able to transfer money to WIC. “This is not a handout from the United States government, these are trust and treaty responsibilities to tribes like Caddo Nation, period,” Gonzalez said. “The United States government and the president have a trust obligation to continue funding these programs. … We’re not part of some DEI group, we’re tribal nations. There’s treaty and trust responsibilities that the United States government has, regardless if you’re shut down, regardless of who the president is. It doesn’t matter if they’re Democrat or Republican, there is a trust responsibility to make sure that these tribes are taken care of related to those treaty rights.” Problems and potential solutions with the Food Distribution Program USDA data indicates that SNAP is much more popular and widely used by American Indian and Alaska Native people than the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, also known as commodities. With looming threats of a loss of SNAP funding, some tribal leaders have suggested enrolling in the Food Distribution Program as a way to provide relief to those on reservations that are not already using the program. Leaders such as those from the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe in South and North Dakota and Spirit Lake Nation in North Dakota issued public service announcements urging tribal members using SNAP to consider switching to the Food Distribution Program. For urban Natives, Hawaiian Natives and some Oklahomans, that may not be an option. In Oklahoma, the Food Distribution Program functions differently than in other states because of the state’s unique history and widespread jurisdictional checkerboarding, Gonzalez said. There are 38 federally recognized tribes in Oklahoma, and all are checkerboarded and intermeshed with each other. While all tribes in Oklahoma have the opportunity to work with the USDA, the actual distribution is handled by only a handful of tribes. Those tribes, like the Cherokee Nation, then distribute commodities to several other tribes within their jurisdiction, themselves and any eligible Native person nearby, Gonzalez said. For example, the Wichita Affiliated Tribes, 15 miles south of Caddo Nation, operates the Food Distribution Program for itself and the Caddo Nation’s food program and any other eligible Native person living nearby. “If no Native American in the state of Oklahoma is getting the services they need from SNAP, they’ll have to find a local food bank or a local tribe that provides a commodities program through USDA to have some kind of relief,” Gonzalez said. Further, Gonzalez said he’s concerned about tribal food banks running out of food in general. “Because SNAP is no longer happening, where do you think those Native Americans are going to go?” Gonzalez said. “They’re going to go to their tribe or their jurisdictional area, and those food banks will be impacted even more so it reduces the food. Then you got the fact that the government shut down. It’s not a pretty picture.” Seven states with federally recognized tribes don’t have Food Distribution Programs available, those states being Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Lousianna, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Texas. There are even more states with no federally recognized tribes but Native residents. Many of these states have IHS facilities, but can’t provide for the Food Distribution Program: Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Washington D.C., West Virginia or any US territories. The Food Distribution Program is also not available in Hawaii or eligible to Hawaiian Natives. Additionally, SNAP is often easier and more convenient, especially for urban Native people who don’t live near a reservation, as the Food Distribution Program is currently only available for eligible people who live on reservations or within nearby designated areas. Eligibility requirements, especially income requirements, between SNAP and commodities are similar but do differ, and no one can use both programs in the same month, so eligible tribes are urging citizens to consider switching before the end of October. While both programs are delivered through the USDA, they come from separate budgets, meaning that during the current government shutdown the Food Distribution Program should not be at risk. That doesn’t mean the Food Distribution Program is running smoothly. The program has been hit with furloughs like any other governmental program, but tribal leaders say it could be an option for citizens. Some tribes are taking a different approach. The Comanche Nation, 80 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, announced on Oct. 23 that it will be providing Food Assistance Vouchers to help tribal members and their families if SNAP funding is cut off. “I wanted to reassure everyone that the administration has been working hard on a plan,” said Comanche Chairman Tahdooahnippah in a Facebook video on the tribe’s page. “In the past with food distribution you have to have no SNAP benefits to get commodities because we used federal dollars. Fortunately we’re blessed to have tribal funds of our own so we are going to be directing some tribal funds to the Food Distribution Program.” Individual tribal citizens can apply to receive a $75 electronic Gift Card or physical Gift Card to be used for food purchases. For households with more than two family members, the family members will receive a $150 e-Gift Card or physical card. Only one card is available per household. The program is available to tribal citizens in and outside of Oklahoma. The tribe is working to open a Food Pantry to provide additional support and resources for tribal citizens who have been furloughed during the government shutdown, and encouraged anyone in need of immediate assistance to contact the Comanche Nation Food Distribution. SNAP’s impact on small businesses A loss of SNAP will also be felt by small businesses on reservations. SNAP benefits come in the form of an electronic debit card that can be used to purchase food at authorized retailers, whereas FDPIR comes directly to your door, making it more convenient for those in food deserts, where grocery stores are not easily accessible. This process can boost local economies, with SNAP money being used to support small grocery stories in rural areas. Lower Brule Sioux Tribe Chairman Boyd Gourneau said Buche’s Gus Stop, which opened a few months ago on the reservation, is the only grocery store for over 30 miles. In its first week of operation earlier this summer, Gourneau said the store made $15,000 in just SNAP spending – a testament to not only how needed the store is, but how many local residents use SNAP. “(SNAP’s) for the poorest of the poor,” Gourneau said. “I mean, who does that to these folks?” This story was originally published by ICT and is republished with permission. To view the original story, visit https://ictnews.org/news/over-one-million-american-indian-alaska-natives-at-risk-if-snap-funding-lapses/.
