In the span of the last 100 years, the Menominee Nation has experienced severely limited access to healthy foods. This has caused a dramatic increase in Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease, both of which occur at a disproportionately higher rate compared to the state’s average.
Through this initiative, the Menominee Tribe and its Department of Agriculture and Food Systems created a renewed food system by focusing on access to healthy food, agricultural best practices, raising livestock, Menominee cultural teachings and peer support. The initiative worked to assert tribal sovereignty through the customization of a Menominee Food Code, beginning with food safety regulation of traditional tribal food systems, while promoting healthy food consumption and economic development. By reclaiming a tribally driven food system, the initiative supported a healthy and culturally vibrant Menominee Nation.
The Challenge
The Menominee, an Algonquin-speaking tribe, once referred to themselves as “Kiash Machitiwuk” or “The Ancient Ones.” Surrounding tribes knew the Menominee as “Omaeqnomenewak,” meaning “People of the Wild Rice,” due to their subsistence on wild rice. It was widely believed that when the Menominee people entered a region, wild rice would follow. Access to healthy food has always been at the center of tribal sovereignty and the deciding factor in treaty negotiations and federal Indian policy. Once self-sustaining stewards of over 10 million acres of land, the Menominee people now reside on a 235,523-acre reservation in Menominee County, of which 223,500 acres are heavily forested. This reduction in land, a direct result of the Menominee Termination Act, has constrained access to traditional food sources and impacted the tribe’s ability to maintain food sovereignty.
Today, Menominee County, where Native Americans make up over 82 percent of the population, faces some of the most severe health disparities in the state. The county ranks highest in Wisconsin for diabetes prevalence (13 percent) and coronary heart disease hospitalizations (5.1 per 1,000 people). These health disparities are compounded by socioeconomic hardship – 27.2 percent of the population lives below the poverty level, and the median household income is just $37,147. Food insecurity is also alarmingly high at 18 percent, the highest among Wisconsin’s 72 counties, and limited access to healthy foods is twice the state average at 11 percent.
These challenges are not merely the result of individual choices but are the consequence of structural inequities that have denied the Menominee people access to basic health-supporting resources. In response, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture and Food Systems (DAFS) was created in 2018 to confront these issues head-on through a community-led initiative centered on food resilience, food sovereignty and health equity.
Project Goals
This project sought to reassert tribal sovereignty and reimagine the food system on the reservation. Grounded in cultural values and traditional knowledge, this initiative represented a pathway toward long-term systems change and improved health outcomes for the Menominee people. They aimed to achieve these goals by:
Creating a new food system for the Menominee community.
Asserting tribal sovereignty through the customization of a Menominee Food Code.
Results
As a result of this award, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin successfully launched and expanded the Department of Agriculture and Food Systems (DAFS), which has become a cornerstone of the Tribal’s food sovereignty and health equity work. DAFS has provided direct service to the Menominee community through Plant and Seed Giveaways, installation of raised garden beds, agriculture demonstrations and the launch of a new community kitchen. This kitchen is now accessible for classes, local food entrepreneurs and families. In addition to on-the-ground programming, DAFS successfully amended the Tribe’s Zoning Law and updated the Tribal Food Code with foundational changes that support long-term food systems transformation. These efforts extended beyond the Reservation through intertribal collaboration that included all eleven federally recognized Tribes in Wisconsin.
Among the most significant achievements was the development of the Wisconsin Tribal Elder Food Box Program (WTEFBP) and the establishment of the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition (GLIFC). Designed to meet the nutritional needs of tribal elders with culturally relevant food, the program has distributed approximately 75,000 food boxes sourced from small-scale tribal and non-tribal producers across Wisconsin, Michigan and Minnesota. GLIFC, now a recognized leader in tribal food sovereignty, brings together all eleven Wisconsin tribes, food banks, the University of Wisconsin, Feeding America Eastern Wisconsin and additional partners to advance to Indigenous-led food systems change across the region.
Furthermore, a total of 644 acres – out of a targeted 800 – were successfully rezoned for agricultural purposes, with leases now established to support Menominee farmers. Zoning changes were also made to allow tenants in tribal housing to grow gardens and raise chickens, encouraging household-level food sovereignty. At the Family and Community Engagement Center, traditional crops like berries, corn and Three Sisters gardens were planted to promote youth and family engagement in traditional food practices. Finally, the team conducted a comprehensive assessment of existing food codes and policies, formed a tribal food code team and developed updates to support long-term systems change.
Lasting Impact
Since 2020, DAFS has grown to a dedicated staff of ten and has implemented a range of community-led initiatives that center cultural values, support local growers and promote wellness through food. In addition, support from academic partners, particularly the Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center (GLILC), was critical to the success of the project. Their expertise helped guide amendments to the Tribal Food Code and offered legal support in building the coalition. While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted planned community gatherings and delayed construction and supply deliveries, the project team adapted to expand food distribution and deepen intertribal partnerships, significantly broadening the project’s reach and impact.
