• IFAI Executive Director, Carly Griffith Hotvedt, was featured in a KOSU article discussing the impacts of federal funding uncertainty on Tribal food and agriculture.  
  
  
• After the Oct. 14 Tribal leader consultation on USDA’s departmental Reorganization Plan, there is one more scheduled for Oct. 16 in Denver, CO with virtual registration too. Read more about the reorganization on IFAI’s recent Blog Post. 

• The USDA is also hosting a virtual consultation on proposed changes to SNAP on Oct. 22 from 1-3 p.m. EST. Register here and see the Federal Register listing for more information.  

• DOI’s Bureau of Indian Affairs is holding a series of consultations from Nov. 10-19, 2025, about Secretarial Order 3443, which concerns elevating and unifying DOI’s Wildland Fire Management Program.  

• There are no Congressional hearings scheduled this week. 

Calendar

Tribal Consultation/Listening Sessions/Advisory Committee Meetings:  

Title of Event: Tribal Consultations on the USDA Department Reorganization Plan 

About: This consultation series is intended to obtain feedback from Tribal leaders and their officially delegated proxies about the USDA Reorganization Plan published in Secretary Memorandum (SM 1078-015) on July 24, 2025.  

• Date(s), Time, and Location: 
  • Oct. 14, 2025 (Tuesday) at 2-5 p.m. EST 
    • Virtual participation register  here 
    • In-Person participation register  here (USDA Whitten Building, Williamsburg Room, 1400 Jefferson Dr. SW, Washington, D.C., 20250) 
  • Oct. 16, 2025 (Thursday) at noon-3 p.m. EST 
    • Virtual participation register here 
    • In-Person participation register here (7001 Yampa Street, Denver, Colorado, 80249)
• Proxy Letter Template 
• Tribal Invitation 

If you would like to register for IFAI’s Tribal briefing, please use the link below.

Title of Event: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Consultation 

About: This consultation will cover one policy and three proposed rules SNAP, administered at the Federal level by the USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS).   

1. SNAP Tribal Work Exception Authorized in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 
2. Proposed Rule: Updated Staple Food Stocking Standards for Retailers in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 
3. Interim Final Rule: SNAP Changes to Federal-State Administrative Cost-Sharing 
4. Proposed Rule: SNAP Changes to Federal-State Benefit Cost Sharing 

•  Date(s), Time and Location 
  • Oct. 22, 2025 from 1-3 p.m. EST 
• Proxy Letter Template  
• Tribal Invitation  

Title of Event: Unifying DOI Wildland Fire Programs through the Planned Establishment of the U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS) 

About: This series of consultations will cover the Department’s effectiveness in wildland fire response. Oral and written comments will be accepted.  

• Date(s), Time, and Location: 
  • Nov. 10, 2025 (Monday) at 3-5 p.m. EST (Virtual) Register 
  • Nov. 13, 2025 (Thursday) at 1:30-3:30 p.m. MST (In-person) 

Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute Auditorium
9169 Coors Blvd. NE
Albuquerque, NM 87121 

• • Nov. 17, 2025 (Monday) at 3-5 p.m. MST (Virtual) Register 
  • Nov. 19, 2025 (Wednesday) at 3:15-4:45 p.m. PST (In-person) 

National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) 82nd Annual Convention Seattle Convention Center, Arch Building
705 Pike Street Seattle, WA 98101 

• Dear Tribal Leader Letter 
• Secretarial Order 3443 

Congressional Sessions:

Looking back: 

Looking ahead:

Nominations:

Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Consultive Committee 

Description: The purpose of this body is to ensure that the interests of U.S. stakeholders are considered in the development of positions and policy relative to U.S. participation in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). 

Deadline: Nominations will be accepted at any time.

Regulatory/Rulemaking Actions

• The CDFI Fund is amending its Notice of Funds Availability for the Native American CDFI Assistance Program. In section II.C.1 “Climate-Focused Financing” is removed from the list of eligible activities for awards under the NOFA. Section II.C.1 also removes individuals that are African American, Hispanic, Other Pacific Islander, Filipino, or Vietnamese from the definition of “eligible market.” Section II.C.3. edits the definition of “healthy foods” to align with MAHA goals and be consistent with EO 14212. 

Posted: Week of Sept. 29 

• FNS is proposing a new rule that would require SNAP vendors stock at least seven varieties (up from three) of staple foods in the four staple food categories (1) meat, poultry, or fish; (2) dairy; (3) bread or cereals; and (4) vegetables or fruits) of which at least one (1) variety in each of three (3) different staple food categories is perishable. 

Posted: Week of Sept. 29