- About Hunger
- How to End Hunger
- Our Impact
- Get Involved
By Marlysa D. Gamblin
November is Native American Heritage Month, also known as National American Indian Heritage Month—a time to celebrate the history, culture, and traditions of Indigenous communities in the United States, similar to Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and Women’s History Month.
One attribute that Indigenous communities have in abundance is resilience. For hundreds of years and continuing today, Indigenous communities have persisted through a series of traumas, including colonization, genocide, forced migration, land loss, and current forms of structural and institutional racism such as discrimination in the workplace and criminal justice system. Persistent efforts to preserve their own cultures have been essential to their very existence.
I was fortunate to attend the Native American Third Annual Nutrition Conference in October, where resilience was celebrated and promoted through a commitment to ancestral traditions. The conference brought together tribal officials, elders, community leaders, researchers, and people from younger generations to discuss the urgent problem of hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity in Indigenous communities.
The national statistics on child food insecurity in the United States show that hunger among children is far too common in such a wealthy country, but the situation is far bleaker for children from Indigenous families than for U.S. children as a group. As we point out in Bread for the World Institute’s new fact sheet, this is largely because of structural racism that has perpetuated deep poverty in these communities. Poverty rates among Indigenous groups are regularly between two and four times as high as for the United States as a whole. The latest available data indicate that Indigenous households as a group have a poverty rate of 25.4 percent and that female-headed Indigenous households have a poverty rate of 54 percent. These rates compare to 12.3 percent for the nation as a whole.
Complex historical traumas have shaped the situation of today’s Indigenous people. The arrival of Europeans several centuries ago meant violent conflict and exposure to new diseases, particularly smallpox. The result was death on a staggering scale. Some researchers believe that the population decreased by as much as 95 percent within a few generations. Even beyond outright violence, a host of U.S. policies contributed to concentrated poverty, both on and off reservations. Today, many Indigenous people lack access to sufficient affordable nutrient-rich foods, leading to medical problems such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease.
The community, tribal, and research leaders at this year’s nutrition conference expressed their determination to end hunger and malnutrition in their communities. Indigenous communities can draw on their cultures of resilience and perseverance, as well as their traditional emphasis on nutrition, to make this goal a reality. The conference was an opportunity for Indigenous leaders from different regions, customs, and age groups to share innovative projects.
As a part of honoring Native American Heritage Month, Bread for the World would like to lift up some recommendations that conference participants offered to reduce food insecurity and malnutrition among Indigenous communities. These include:
These recommendations are not comprehensive—rather, they are only a few examples of policy changes discussed during the conference that will help Indigenous communities become better nourished. They are steps in the right direction that are essential if the United States is to meet its goal of ending domestic hunger and food insecurity by 2030.
We can honor Native American Heritage Month by recognizing the incredible work being done by Indigenous leaders and communities—and by urging our elected leaders to enact these policy recommendations, as well as other policies that will move the United States toward zero hunger, both for Indigenous communities and for everyone.
Marlysa D. Gamblin is domestic advisor for policy and programs, specific populations, with Bread for the World Institute.
Complex historical traumas have shaped the situation of today’s Indigenous people.
These fact sheets provide a snapshot of hunger and poverty in the United States and in each state plus Washington, D.C.
Conflict is a main driver of the recent increase in hunger around the world and of forced migration. Hunger also contributes to conflict.
“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in faith.” These words from Colossians 2:6 remind us of the faith that is active in love for our neighbors.
The Bible on...
Dear Members of Congress,
As the president and Congress are preparing their plans for this year, almost 100 church leaders—from all the families of U.S. Christianity—are...
This devotional guide invites deepened relationship with and among Pan-African people and elected leaders in the mission to end hunger and poverty.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is designed to respond to changes in need, making it well suited to respond to crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bread for the World and its partners are asking Congress to provide $200 million for global nutrition in the fiscal year 2020 budget.
In 2017, 11.8 percent of households in the U.S.—40 million people—were food-insecure, meaning that they were unsure at some point during the year about how they would provide for their next meal.