Nutrition, Education and
“No Child Left with a Big Behind”

By Dr. Kevin Weiland, MD
As a physician, I have to admit that most of my training on nutrition was limited to several brief lectures during the first two years of medical school. Yet, one of the first orders of business I perform when a patient is admitted to the hospital is what kind of diet they should follow. (READ MORE)

From the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health

Diabetes mellitus is one of the most serious health challenges facing American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States today. The disease is very common in many tribes, and morbidity and mortality from diabetes can be severe.
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Today’s Commodities: How Do They Measure Up?
By Susan Ricci-Fox, IDEA Director

IDEA recently completed a second Native American Food Systems Initiative Grant from First Nations Development Institute which examined the USDA/FDPIR (Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations) policies on Indian reservations. The project set out to determine how tribes can get traditional foods included in the monthly commodity food distribution; how the commodity food distribution system operates in each tribal community; and how does the nutritional content of monthly commodities contrast/ compare with the Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) standards.
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IDEA Hosts Buffalo Field Trip for Lakota Afterschool Program

IDEA recently hosted a buffalo field trip for kids from the Ateyapi afterschool program in Rapid City. Over thirty elementary school students came out to our ranch and got up close and personal with some buffalo while learning the traditional uses of the bison and how to put up a Plains-style tipi. Afterwards, everyone feasted on buffalo meatballs. It was a great day for all of us.

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