After pandemic supply troubles left tribes without meat, some decided to invest in their own slaughterhouses

Workers cut steaks at Three Rivers Meat Company, whose majority 
owner is the Choctaw Nation. (Photo by Todd Price, Offrange)

U.S. meat supplies for Indian populations were unreliable during the pandemic, which led at least 18 Native American tribes to invest in building their own slaughterhouses, reports Todd Price for Offrange.

The Osage Nation in northern Oklahoma was one of the first tribes to decide that "they would build their own USDA-inspected meat processing plants," Price explains. Other Oklahoma tribes, including the Cherokee Nation, Choctaw Nation, Miami Nation, and Muscogee Nation, have also invested in their own meat plants.

Before the pandemic, many tribes owned land, raised livestock, or oversaw marine tracks. Following the pandemic-era slaughterhouse closures and meat supply bottlenecks, "Many tribes recognized the urgency of taking control of their food supply so they could always ensure their people would be fed," Price reports. "An estimated 18 tribes now operate plants that process meat and seafood."

Although slaughterhouses are expensive to build and have slim profit margins, Native tribes use "vertical integration" to leverage benefits. Price explains, "They own the animals and then sell the meat to their casinos or food assistance programs. And they do not always define success in dollars like a private business. Bringing good jobs to rural areas and meat to food deserts is part of the goal."

For tribes, being able to raise and process enough food to feed their people isn't just about making sure no one goes hungry. "It is also an important step towards food sovereignty — controlling the food supply and deciding what they will eat," Price reports. "And sovereignty, the power to govern themselves, is a right that tribes have long fought to preserve."