RFK Jr. visits Arizona tribes to talk about food, gets history lesson on sovereignty

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr. secretary of Health and Human Services, appeared at a tribal self-governance forum April 8, with plans to talk about food and health care at a roundtable.
• Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis delivered a history lesson before Kennedy spoke, talking about how tribes should be allowed to govern themselves.
• Kennedy talked about using AI in health care, recalling a demonstration of a robotic nurse, but his comments were not well received by the crowd.

GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY — During one of his stops visiting tribal communities in Arizona, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was scheduled to take part in a panel discussion April 8 at the 2025 Tribal Self-Governance Conference.

But with a top Trump administration official present, Gila River Indian Community Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis used the moment to deliver a pointed message. He marked the 50th anniversary of President Richard Nixon’s Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, and emphasized the foundational truth that tribes are political entities, rooted in treaty obligations and nation-to-nation relationships.

"President Nixon's policy of self determination, not termination, became the law that has now retained the policy of the United States for the past 50 years, a law that empowers tribal governments to be self-government," said Lewis, speaking at the tribe's Wild Horse Pass Casino.

"In addition to adjusting to new secretaries and staffing at their agencies, some of the actions have created confusion and concern, and we have spent a good part of this year already providing education on why tribes have a political status that is not DEI," Lewis said.

President Donald Trump has worked toward eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion policies across the government, and there has been the question of where tribes fit with that, especially when it comes to the executive order "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing."

"I want to acknowledge that we find ourselves, as we all know, in a time of change in Washington, D.C., with the change in the presidency and the majority shifts in both the House and the Senate," said Lewis. "This is a new leadership, but we can all admit that the sheer volume of executive orders and policies in the first 79 days of this administration has been overwhelming."

Lewis emphasized that tribes have exercised self-determination and self-governance since time immemorial, but it wasn’t until the enactment of the 1975 law that a formal framework was established to guide these principles within the government-to-government relationship with the federal government.

He pointed to recent shifts — such as changes within the Department of Education, cuts to SNAP, rising costs and broader agency impacts under the Trump administration — as examples of growing challenges. Yet, Lewis asserted, tribes are well equipped to navigate these pressures precisely because of the foundation built through self-governance.

"Our tribes have been through every transition that existed in this great country," said Lewis. "Sometimes policies were favorable, and other points in our country's history of policies were intended to literally dismantle our communities and our identities. Yet here we are today, talking about our tribal, federal relationship, our self determination and our sovereignty."

Self-determination in health and well-being

The Indian Self-Determination law granted tribes greater autonomy over federally administered programs and services. It enabled tribes to enter into contracts with the Department of Interior, allowing them to manage services previously overseen by federal agencies. Designed to ensure tribal leadership in shaping the delivery of these services, the law aimed to better align federal support with the specific needs and priorities of Native communities.

"The first Americans — the Indians — are the most deprived and most isolated minority group in our nation," Nixon said in a message to Congress in 1970. "On virtually every scale of measurement — employment, income, education, health — the condition of the Indian people ranks at the bottom. This condition is the heritage of centuries of injustice.

"From the time of their first contact with European settlers, the American Indians have been oppressed and brutalized, deprived of their ancestral lands and denied the opportunity to control their own destiny. Even the Federal programs which are intended to meet their needs have frequently proven to be ineffective and demeaning," Nixon wrote.

Kennedy was joined at the table discussion by W. Ron Allen, tribal chairman and CEO of the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe; Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, chairwoman of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah); and Chris Anoatubby, lieutenant governor of the Chickasaw Nation. They discussed topics such as self-governance within the Indian Health Service, food sovereignty and the potential use of artificial intelligence in tribal communities, though the prospect of introducing AI into health care services received limited support from many of the hundreds in attendance at the conference.

"Self-governance is not a program," said Allen. "It's a relationship between the federal government and the tribe, so let us negotiate the programs that are intended for us, the functions ... and we'll move out to the tribes and we'll tell you how we can do it better."

Kennedy discussed chronic health issues and food sovereignty when it comes to tribes. Research has shown that, out of 28 U.S. counties with a majority Native American population, 18 experience high levels of food insecurity. One of the most affected is Apache County in Arizona — which includes parts of the Navajo Nation, as well as the Zuni and Fort Apache tribes. The county has the highest food insecurity rate among any majority Native American-majority county in the county, with 22% of its population affected.

According to the Indian Health Service, American Indians and Alaska Natives born today have a life expectancy of 73.0 years — 5.5 years less than the overall U.S. population, at 78.5 years. Native Americans also continue to experience higher mortality rates than other Americans across several major health categories, including chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes, unintentional injuries, homicide, suicide and chronic lower respiratory diseases.

"The reality of most of the tribes in this country are living in food deserts and there is a chronic health crisis on the reservation such as heart disease, coronary disease, diabetes, obesity," said Kennedy. "Processed food is poison for all of us ... it seems to disproportionately impact Indian Country. If we are really going to get public health to end this crisis, we need to address what is creating the crisis, which is the food system"

Kennedy, who served as the host of the roundtable, asked more questions than he was asked. Still, he shared personal anecdotes about his upbringing and the topics being discussed. At one point, he noted the scarcity of traditional foods among many tribes and asked Andrews-Maltais about her experience living in a tribal community that is not considered a food desert.

"Our indigenous food and our indigenous diet, that is what made us healthy, that is what kept us healthy," said Andrews-Maltais. "We do a lot of fishing and hunting, being able to reintroduce traditional food into our diet ... it not only helps with our overall general diet but it helps rebuild community. We don't have a food desert, but it's very expensive."

Chairman Buster Attebery of the Karuk Tribe expressed his approval of Kennedy's comments on restoring traditional foods. But he emphasized the importance of the federal government fulfilling its trust and treaty obligations to support these efforts. Alongside the restoration of salmon in the Klamath River, the Karuk Tribe operates three gardens that provide fresh food to elders across its three districts.

As the discussion turned to the importance of telemedicine, Kennedy highlighted the potential role of artificial intelligence in tribal communities. He recalled a demonstration he saw with Mehmet Cengiz Oz, better known as Dr. Oz, who was recently appointed by Trump to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and confirmed by the U.S. Senate this month. The demonstration dealt with a robotic nurse, which backers said showed promise for integrating such technology into health care in Indian Country. This sparked loud disagreement from the audience.

"AI today has the capacity to diagnose illness better than any doctor in the world," said Kennedy. "And to make prescriptions — not only that, they are available 24 hours a day ... and to lower the cost of the whole community and improve health care delivery. We are going to try to roll out systems like that in Indian Country."

Kennedy to meet with Navajo President Buu Nygren

After a marked lack of enthusiasm for AI's rollout in tribal health care, the discussion with Kennedy came to an end. Kennedy’s next scheduled stop was the Navajo Nation on April 9, where he planned to meet with the tribal president.

The meeting was to take place just hours after Navajo President Buu Nygren witnessed another executive order signed by Trump in support of coal development — an issue that has long affected the Navajo people, who have endured decades of health, land and environmental challenges because of mines and are still trying to find their footing after the closures of these mines.

Kennedy's father had also visited the Navajo Nation just three months before his assassination in 1968. Robert F. Kennedy Sr. traveled to Window Rock, the capital of the Navajo Nation, to attend the 11th annual Navajo Education Conference, where he delivered a strong critique of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' boarding schools, according to a report from the April 4, 1968, issue of the Navajo Times.

Kennedy’s visit will focus on health, starting with a hike up Window Rock with Nygren. The executive office of the Navajo Nation denied The Arizona Republic's request to attend the meeting between Nygren and Kennedy. But the purpose of the visit and the topics to be discussed, such as the junk food tax, are not unexpected.

The Healthy Diné Nation Act implemented a 2% sales tax on unhealthy foods and beverages and eliminated the overall sales tax on healthy fruits and vegetables on the Navajo Nation. Local chapters are empowered through the tax revenue to develop more running and walking trails, basketball courts and other outdoor facilities that enable people to become more active.

Before the roundtable discussion at Gila River, Kennedy also announced that certain Indian Health Services leases won't be terminated. Earlier in March, the Department of Government Efficiency's listing of leases being terminated by the General Services Administration included properties being used by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service, and on the list was Navajo Area IHS offices located in St. Michaels, Farmington and Gallup.

"Some Navajo tribal leaders have asked us at HHS to exempt the Indian Health Services of recent executive orders by the president ... to terminate various leases, including infrastructure that affects Indian Health Services," Kennedy said. "The White House has agreed to exempt the Navajo Indian Health Services facilities in Farmington, St. Michaels and Gallup."

Arlyssa D. Becenti covers Indigenous affairs for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Send ideas and tips to arlyssa.becenti@arizonarepublic.com.