Promoting and Supporting NW Tribal Food Sovereignty Through Policy

The Northwest Tribal Food Sovereignty Coalition (NTFSC) has been working to promote tribal food sovereignty by supporting community-led initiatives and encouraging inter-tribal knowledge exchange. The NTFSC has also formed a policy workgroup to strategize how tribal food sovereignty may be further supported by policy change. Recent workgroup meetings have resulted in the identification of policy priority areas, and the desire for a policy platform to support tribal food sovereignty in the Northwest. This project aimed to assist with the early phases of policy platform development by compiling a list of policy recommendations that may support food sovereignty. A review of the University of Arkansas’s Model Tribal Food and Agriculture Codes was conducted to determine which codes most closely align with the workgroup’s priority areas. Additionally, a facilitated dialogue was held with the workgroup to determine member definitions of food sovereignty, current efforts to promote food sovereignty, food sovereignty barriers, and ways to address these barriers through policy change or implementation. The code review highlighted 3 main topics: food safety, food production, and food procurement. The dialogue resulted in emergent themes surrounding increased resource access, natural resource preservation, and food procurement. Policy recommendations are to consider adopting/adapting codes related to land use and access, water rights, and fishing rights.

Materials Available

• Poster

---

Project Type(s): MPH Practicum, PH Concentration Poster

Author(s): Lauren Sawyer

Program(s): Master of Public Health, RDN Training

Year: 2021

Adviser(s):

• Anne Lund