Alaskan Self-Determination Demonstration Project Supports Tribal Health, Sovereignty

By Emily C. Kelley, Public Affairs Specialist, and Jimmy Nguyen, Program Analyst, USDA FNS

USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service supports indigenous health and tribal sovereignty through Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations Self-Determination Demonstration Projects.

The 2018 Farm Bill authorized USDA and the Department of the Interior to collaborate on a demonstration project to give tribes more control over food procurement in the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations, commonly known as FDPIR. Tribes select one or more foods to procure and provide through the FDPIR food package, replacing an item procured by USDA.

The Alaska Native Health Consortium, known as ANTHC, operates a FDPIR self-determination demonstration project that provides foods to 18 tribes across Alaska. Learn more about the ANTHC project in this video.