Native News
The Indigenous Food Pyramid To Make Native America Healthy Again
Take a look at the Indigenous Food Pyramid.
It’s an Indigenized mirror to the inverted triangle United States agriculture and health leaders unveiled in January to show Americans food options for healthier diets while determining priorities for food policy and commerce until 2030.
The Indigenous Food Pyramid is an acrylic canvas painting from artist Joeseph Arnoux (Piikani/Sp’q’n’i), developed with the editorial staff at Cultivating Culture to present a view on the relationship between new federal nutritional policies and Indigenous Food Sovereignty practices.
The pyramid is a way to talk about reporting by journalists at Cultivating Culture that shows how tribal sovereignty and food are intertwined to resolve disjointed conflicts shaped by contradictions from generations of United States trust and treaty policies with Native Americans.
This includes journalism about returning salmon in Nez Perce, traditional food baskets in Zuni Pueblo, Wind River buffalo increasing student attendance, land management conflicts on hunting grounds for The Five Civilized Tribes, or how Native-owned restaurants increase capital for cultural presence in front of international audiences.
The Indigenous Food Pyramid has 27 items that all have an impact on cultural and nutritional health that happen to line up with the federal standard, while standing apart through tribal self-determination and land practices.
This was shown recently by tribal consultation that specifically altered new rules for what retailers can sell to people who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, a food aid service used by more than 540,000 Native Americans in 2025.
The USDA released a staple foods list that includes buffalo, salmon, wild rice and blue corn. Other fruits like huckleberries or prickly pear cactus can be included by tribal or regional market request.
“All Tribal governments raised concerns about the unique procurement challenges that Tribal retailers face due to limited access to distribution networks, high transportation costs, and inconsistent supply chains,” according to the USDA rule published May 8 on the federal register.
“Three respondents urged the (USDA) to consider traditional foods and locally produced food as staple foods, such as bison, blue corn, wild rice, salmon, and chokecherries. The (USDA) appreciates these comments and agrees that traditional foods should count as staple foods.”
When the new U.S. food pyramid was announced in January, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said it would realign food systems to, “support American farmers, ranchers, and companies that grow and produce real food. That means more protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains on American dinner tables.”
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., emphasized the need for “real” food and has gone on public tours, at times shirtless, to proclaim the position.
“American households must prioritize whole, nutrient-dense foods,” Kennedy said after releasing the new pyramid. “Protein, dairy, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and whole grains. and dramatically reduce highly processed foods.”
Federal dietary guidelines change every five years, and despite the visual change to the pyramid and the bold emphasis to loudly reject certain foods, much of the dietary advice is consistent with prior guidelines, according to nutrition experts.
Ashley Carrillo is an assistant professor of practice for the School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness at the University of Arizona.
“Previous iterations of the guidelines also prioritized protein and encouraged eating fruits and vegetables and choosing fiber-rich whole grains,” Carrillo said. “A lot of what’s changed is the emphasis on where those nutrients are coming from.”
From the Indigenous Food Pyramid you see 27 food sources; Buffalo, salmon, sheep, elk, acorn, lilac, pinion, dandelion, wild rice, maple, milkweed, turkey, mint, wild licorice, cota NDN tea, camas, lettuce, carrots, celery, red/green chile, blue corm, beans, acorn squash, calabacitas, huckleberry, prickly pear, turnip.
It does not fully represent every tribal region or food source. The items need to be translated into traditional languages. There could be a food pyramid for individual tribes and bands. Many are using food with language lessons, there could be numerous versions of the food pyramid.
It identifies some of the animals and wildlife that are at the root of land practices foundational to Native lifestyles and traditional food systems. Access to traditional food, or even simply fresh produce, is another element that can hinder healthy eating. In that way, Cultivating Culture reporting often shows the regenerative and restorative efforts necessary to bring back certain foods or plants that can evolve the Indigenous Food Pyramid.
The Indigenous Food Pyramid presents options for both nutritional and cultural health that can be included with the new USDA guidelines to help inform decisions that impact people’s overall well-being.
“The 400-page scientific report that accompanies these guidelines is going to inform policy decisions for the next five years,” Carrillo said in her analysis about the new dietary guidelines. “That’s going to affect things like school lunches, federally funded healthcare facilities and prisons. For a lot of people in those institutions, the food they get there is the bulk – if not the entirety – of their nutrition for the day.”
For Cultivating Culture, the Indigenous Food Pyramid is a map to report on Indigenous Food Sovereignty. There are many challenges to address on this topic alone, and extreme actions by the federal government that harm health go beyond a nifty pyramid.
The Indigenous Food Pyramid represents food systems that currently exist for tribes in the United States and North America. It is a window that invites people to learn more about the richness of these food systems for all Americans and share serious discussions to define food sovereignty.
What’s on your plate? Send us a message to share what food belongs to your Indigenous Food Pyramid. You can send me an email to shaun@nativenewsonline.net.