Tribal Leaders Unite With Food Bank To Tackle Food Insecurity Among Native Americans

Leaders from tribes from all over the state met with agencies like the Food Bank to talk about helping Native Americans who need help getting food. 

Dozens of people had panel discussions and brought together some partners about how they can all work together to make sure citizens don't go hungry. 

The three sisters soup, corn and other traditional Native American dishes were a reminder of how food can unite people.

"By bringing them together to share what they're doing, there's a great opportunity to build that coalition," said Mark Ford. 

Mark Ford is the tribal partnerships director with Feeding America that runs their two food banks in Oklahoma. Thursday's event was about learning how tribes are feeding their citizens, like growing and processing their own food, and building relationships with food banks.

“Tribes are saying we want to take ownership, by growing own foods and accessing traditional foods, and reincorporating them into diets," said Ford. 

Pyet DeSpain grew up on Osage Nation land and now lives in LA as a private chef and was the keynote speaker. She was the first winner of Gordon Ramsey's show called Next Level Chef, by cooking food inspired by her Native and Mexican heritage.

“There was a lack of representation in the culinary world, not just people that look like myself and our background, but from the true stories of our foods," she said.

Ford said Native Americans' concerns over providing food have gone back generations. He said 1 in 4 Native people don't have enough to eat. 

“With colonization, our policies put tribes in reservations," he said. "It took away their access of growing food, of hunting and fishing.”

“There's a lot of tribal nations that do have food insecurity or are in the middle of food deserts, and we’re trying to address that in any way possible we can," DeSpain said.

Feeding America said a lot of good work is already happening, and now tribes are looking for help to remove red tape and get additional funding. They hope to host more events like this in the future.

The Food Bank is always looking for volunteers or donations to continue its mission of feeding Oklahomans.