Feed your relatives

As most of us know by now, the federal government shut down on October 1, 2025 at midnight. This affects the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP) or Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) that many of our families depend on this program has been frozen for November. On October 16, 2025 USDA secretary Brooke Rollins stated “the SNAP program would run out of funds in two weeks if the shutdown continued” Rollins issued a statement that the USDA directed states to pause sending November files to their electronic benefits transfer or EBT vendors until further notice. Several states have issued public notices that they will not be able to issue SNAP benefits on November 1, unless the federal government reopens. Also, the USDA contingency plans could potentially extend funding beyond October but the administration will not allow it. This lack of funds will also hurt our local grocery stores and the overall economy. South Dakota has posted a notice about SNAP disruption on their website at https://dss.sd.gov/docs/Stakeholder_FAQ_SNAP_Disruption.pdf

Newsweek reported on Friday that House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said that “the administration’s refusal to extend the benefit shows a lack of concern for struggling families, the federal government has the resources to ensure that not a single American goes hungry on November 1, Republicans are trying to weaponize hunger and that is unconscionable.”

In September 2025 many families received SNAP or EBT on the Rosebud Reservation, with the total number of households receiving SNAP assistance was 2,042. The total number of folks receiving SNAP benefits was 4,565 including 2,293 adults and 2,272 children with a total cost of $1,006,928. In Oglala Lakota County for the month of September 2025, 2,535 families received SNAP benefits. The total number of people who received benefits was 5,840 with 3,065 adults and 2,275 children receiving benefits with a total cost of $1,256,909. In Pennington County 5,251 households received September EBT benefits with 9,990 people served including 5,559 adults and 4,431 children the total cost being $1,980,037. https://dss.sd.gov/keyresources/statistics.aspx#snap

The 1868 treaty of Fort Laramie guaranteed rations for Native Americans living on reservations. the people would gather at certain areas to receive their rations from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but over time the distribution of these food rations became controversial due to issues like some food was unfit to eat or the food would be used to pressure Indigenous peoples to move onto reservations, also the long-term effects of dependency on government rations undermined tribal authority, while disrupting traditional food systems. The modern food distribution programs in addition to SNAP are the commodity program which provides food from the USDA to low-income households on or near reservations. Before we were put on reservations, our people made sure no one in camp went hungry. This was one of our values of being generous and feeding children and elders, and all the other people who lived in the camp. This is one of our values. We’re going have to go back to practicing generosity.

I was glad to see there are already people in communities on Rosebud who are feeding the public in areas where people gather. Also, working people and others with resources should be generous and feed their relatives. Feeding South Dakota comes to our reservation every month, but it’s uncertain as to how long their resources will hold out to feed everyone who utilizes this service it’s time for us, as Lakota people, to walk our talk and display our Lakota value of generosity by making sure that none of our people, especially our children and elders go hungry. Some tribes are processing their buffalo and distributing to the people. Sicangu Co has been doing distribution of buffalo meat to the public through their farmers markets for the past summer. They’ve also handed out free produce to people, but I’m not sure how long this service will continue. Our tribes do have buffalo herds and they might have to tap the herds and harvest more to help the people to have enough food. Please make sure that your relatives do not go hungry.