On May 5, 2025, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issued Secretary’s Memorandum 1078-010, which clarifies how certain executive orders apply to federally recognized Indian Tribes, their citizens, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiian Communities.
“The Department’s unique government-to-government and political relationship with, federally recognized Indian Tribes, American Indian Tribal citizens and Alaska Natives, and the Native Hawai’ian Community are legally distinct from policy-based Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion programs such as those covered by these Executive Orders.”
Given the absence of definitions, a reasonable reading of the memorandum indicates it incorporates longstanding tenets of federal Indian law, specifically, the political relationship Tribes have with the federal government. This follows Supreme Court precedent established under the 1884 Elk v. Wilkins decision that federally recognized Tribes as political entities. This determination and guidance are only for USDA and USDA subagencies.
“This memorandum affirms what the whole of Indian Country has said repeatedly: the federal trust responsibility, based on our nation-to-nation relationship, must be administered in every department, including USDA,” said Carly Griffith Hotvedt, executive director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. “Secretary Rollins’ memo is a reference for all USDA staff to apply as they perform the work of the department to serve all Americans and also meet the federal trust responsibility to Tribes.”
At USDA, these memoranda are official documents issued by the secretary of agriculture that communicate policies, clarify the application of laws or executive orders, and provide guidance on the implementation of programs and initiatives within the department. They usually include a description of the background of the issue, a statement of the legal issues to be discussed, an introduction of the relevant laws, and an analysis of how the law should apply to specific facts.
Memorandum’s key points
The memorandum addresses three executive orders issued by the Trump Administration in January 2025:
USDA’s memorandum clarifies that these executive orders do not impact programs serving Tribal citizens, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians due to their legal and political relationship. This USDA memorandum takes a stance similar to the Department of the Interior’s Secretarial Order 3416, released in January 2025. This DOI order also recognized the unique political status of Tribal citizens, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians, and exempted programs serving them from any programs due to be terminated under the terms of these executive orders.
Indian Country impact for USDA programs
The order’s direction indicates that because USDA recognizes this unique political status, it will not terminate Tribal-serving programs based on the text of the cited executive orders. This does not mean that USDA will not terminate Tribal-serving programs for other reasons, however.
This clarification is still significant because it signals that the USDA will continue to honor the United States’ trust relationship with Tribal Nations, as well as applicable Tribal treaty rights. It instructs all USDA agencies to administer programs while being guided by precedent established in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, and the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) focuses on putting Tribal sovereignty in food sovereignty, promoting Tribally driven solutions to revitalize and advance traditional food systems and diversified economic development throughout Indian Country. IFAI provides Tribal governments, producers, and food businesses with educational resources, policy research, and strategic legal analysis as a foundation for building robust food economies. To learn more about legal and policy analysis, please email agpolicy@uark.edu.