USDA Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative
The USDA Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative promotes traditional food ways, Indian Country food and agriculture markets, and Indigenous health through foods tailored to American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) dietary needs. USDA is partnering with tribal-serving organizations on projects to reimagine federal food and agriculture programs from an Indigenous perspective and inform future USDA programs and policies.
Incorporating Indigenous and FDPIR Foods: Recipes & Videos
Indigenous foods are nutritious, well-adapted to local climates, and serve an important role in traditional foodways. These recipes and videos show you how to add foraged and Indigenous foods to foods available through USDA’s Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). Learn how to make huckleberry smoothies, wild rice bowl, bison meatballs, and much more. In partnership with the North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS), the videos feature award-winning chefs and restaurateurs Chefs Sean Sherman (Oglala Sioux) and Crystal Wahpepah (Kickapoo Tribe of Oklahoma). The recipes and videos focus on foods in the Midwest, Mountain Plains, Southwest, and Western regions.
Cooking Videos and Recipes
Midwest/Mountain Plains Regions
Bison Meatballs with Dandelion Tomato Sauce & Pasta (Indigenous Food Lab)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 878 KB)
Chicken and Nettle Pozole (Indigenous Food Lab)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 911 KB)
Corn Chowder with Wild Plantains & Salmon (Indigenous Food Lab)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 874 KB)
Cornmeal Griddle Cakes, Blueberries, Groundcherry Sauce, and Mint (Indigenous Food Lab)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 877 KB)
Mulberry Rosehip Bars (Indigenous Food Lab)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 874 KB)
Vegetarian Wild Rice Bowl (Indigenous Food Lab)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 873 KB)
Western/Southwest Regions
Chicken Veggie Stir Fry with Manzanita (Chef Crystal Wahpepah)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 854 KB)
Peach California Huckleberry Smoothie (Chef Crystal Wahpepah)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 852 KB)
Baked Pear Blueberry Crisp (Chef Crystal Wahpepah)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 916 KB)
Pinto Bean Dip with Roasted Pine Nuts (Chef Crystal Wahpepah)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 854 KB)
Bay Laurel Beef Stew Shepherd’s Pie (Chef Crystal Wahpepah)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 867 KB)
Pancakes and Salmonberry (Chef Crystal Wahpepah)
Cooking Video
Recipe (PDF, 866 KB)
Foraging and Harvesting Indigenous and Wild Plants: Videos and Guides
Learn foraging basics with ethnobotany experts Linda Black Elk, Lisa Iron Cloud (Oglala Sioux), and Addelina Lucero (Taos Pueblo/Yaqui). Discover how common plants such as nettles, wild onion, milkweed, and mint can be harvested and transformed into delicious dishes and teas. The videos and guides highlight how sustainable foraging practices can increase nutrition security, promote Indigenous foods, and encourage more sustainable land conservation practices. These guides and videos look at foraging in the Midwest, Mountain Plains, and Southwest regions.
Best Practices for Foraging and Harvesting Indigenous and Wild Plants (PDF, 449 KB), prepared by Linda Black Elk and Lisa Iron Cloud
Mountain Plains Region
Mountain Plains Region Indigenous and Wild Plant List (PDF, 1.2 MB), prepared by Lisa Iron Cloud
Foraging Phannunpla (Milkweed)
Foraging Psin Sicamna (Wild Onion)
Foraging Wahpe Tanka (Burdock)
Midwest Region
Midwest Region Indigenous and Wild Plant List (PDF, 1.5 MB), prepared by Linda Black Elk
Southwest Region
Southwest Region Indigenous and Wild Plant List (PDF, 1.1 MB), prepared by Addelina Lucero
Producer Handbook: Transitioning from Cattle to Bison – An Introduction
This handbook was created in partnership with Intertribal Buffalo Council (ITBC). It informs interested tribal communities and Native cattle producers about the process, costs, and factors involved in transitioning to bison production. The guide supports a broader initiative to restore buffalo to the land and help preserve Indigenous foodways for future generations.
Producer Handbook: Transitioning from Cattle to Bison – An Introduction (PDF, 2.3 MB)
Regional Indigenous Seed Saving Hubs
Created in partnership with Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance - Indigenous Seed Keepers Network (ISKN), six seed cleaning fanning mills were purchased and distributed to help establish regional Indigenous seed hubs. These fanning mills will help community partners to efficiently separate seeds, allow the preservation of hardiest varieties of plants, save time of seed cleaning and separation, provide seed cleaning accessibility to more farmers and community members, expand greater variety of local seeds to the communities, provide different grades of screens needed in cleaning different variety of seeds, and increase production times. Access and availability to the seed cleaning mills will also allow the communities to build capacity in collective processing, workshops and seed rematriation and sovereignty.
Midwest Region Seed Saving Hub
Ohe.laku (Oneida Nation)
Seeds Our Relatives, Miinikaanan Gidinawemaaganoog (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa)
Bodwéwadmi Ktëgan-Forest County Potawatomi Community (Forest County Potawatomi)
Southwest/Western Region Seed Saving Hub
Bidii Baby Foods, LLC (Navajo Nation)
Pikuni Co-op (Black Feet Nation)
Flowering Tree Permaculture Institute (Santa Clara Pueblo)
Fact Sheet: USDA Indigenous Food Sovereignty Initiative (PDF, 314 KB)
