The Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska has announced that its community distributions of traditional foods are on hold for 2025 due to federal funding cuts.
The Council's foods security department had been planning to use a Local Food Purchase Agreement grant of more than $500,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to procure and prepare herring eggs on kelp and salmon to be shared in its partner communities, the regional tribal government said in a press release.
Over the past three years, the organization has distributed more than 52,000 pounds of herring roe on kelp, 120,000 pounds of salmon, and 31,000 pounds of black cod to its tribal citizens in Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.
Tlingit & Haida government represents more than 30,000 citizens of Tlingit and Haida descent as of 2025. It was established in 1935, and is one of two regional tribal governments in all of Alaska.
Tlingit & Haida signed its latest USDA food purchase agreement on Jan. 6, with $513,000 allocated for the procurement of locally sourced seafood for tribal citizen household distributions.
On March 7 the USDA marketing service informed Tlingit & Haida that its grant was terminated. In a press release, Tlingit & Haida said the notice stated that the marketing service "has determined this agreement no longer effectuates agency priorities.”
The federal food purchase agreement program “uses non-competitive cooperative agreements to provide funding for state, tribal and territorial governments to purchase foods produced within the state or within 400 miles of the delivery destination to help support local, regional and under-served producers,” states the USDA’s website.
Given the cuts to Tlingit & Haida’s local purchase agreement, the regional tribal government couldn't afford to purchase commercial roe on kelp from the Craig/Klawock herring fishery to be processed and shipped to tribal citizens throughout Alaska and the Lower 48.
A separate herring egg harvest for Tlingit & Haida citizens in Washington and Oregon was not impacted by the cuts.
Tribal citizens in in the Lower 48 received herring eggs on branches this spring through a harvest sponsored by the Seattle Community Council for Tlingit & Haida with funds from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The Council used its ARPA funds to procure and distribute herring eggs on branches for households in Portland, Oregon, and Lynnwood, Tacoma, Bellingham, and Yakima, Washington, and beyond.
Steve Johnson of Sitka harvested tons of herring eggs on branches for the Seattle Council program. The Sitka eggs reached about 1,200 households through the distribution, Johnson said today.
He said that the Seattle Community Council reimbursed his expenses for the harvest, which he accomplished with help from many volunteers. The council also covered the cost of shipping eggs to southern chapters.
The Seattle Community Council plans to host a smoked salmon distribution in Lower 48 communities in September, the release says. However, the majority of Tlingit & Haida’s regionwide food distributions are on hold for now.
The tribe said that it will continue to search for funding to purchase traditional foods harvested in Alaska to “decrease reliance on the food systems of the Lower 48” and “to fuel the next generations” of tribal citizens with seafood.
Traditional Food Security Manager Aaron Angerman said in the release that his department within Tlingit & Haida will continue to partner with local tribes and schools for distribution opportunities.
