COURTESY PHOTO / USDA  Jefferson Keel, President, National Congress of American Indians, far left,  joins first lady Michelle Obama and a group of Native children in planting the “three sisters”– corn, beans and squash – in the White House kitchen garden last week.PHOENIX – Some people in Indian Country are addressing the obesity problem by simply moving.


On their own or in groups, Native Americans are moving toward better food choices and exercise. The movement, called Let’s Move!  in Indian Country (LMIC), mirrors first lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! program that’s designed to crush childhood obesity within a generation by getting people active and teaching them how to take control of their health and their children’s health one bite at a time.

“It’s so cool, I’m so excited,” Janie Hipp, United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Tribal Relations director, said. “I think it’s really going to be great, it’s just going to get people’s minds around food availability and making really good healthy decisions and the exercise component is so important.”

LMIC ignited on May 25 at the Menominee Nation in Keshena, Wis. where they rank 72 out of 72 in health issues and results linked to diabetes and heart disease rates.

“Becoming a healthier community starts with our children, so I am delighted that we can address these issues in such a comprehensive way,” Menominee Tribal Chairman Randal Chevalier stated.

American Indian and Alaska Native children are twice as likely to be overweight and their obesity rates increased from 2003 to 2008. Overall, one in three U.S. children is overweight or obese.

Cecilia Butler, Indian Health Service (IHS) LMIC coordinator, said the reasons why Native children become obese are mirrored in the same behaviors seen in non-Native children, such as a lot of sedentary time, not enough physical activity in schools or at home, and unsafe environments. Adding to the weight is the high consumption of sugar in soda pop, candy, snacks, and pastries, plus fast foods and foods that are very easily prepared, such as frozen pizza and potato chips.

“Then of course, there’s also that other caveat of our children who go to Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) schools often time don’t have the facilities to where they can actually exercise,” Butler said.

LMIC is designed to better the health of American Indian and Alaska Native children by aiding tribes and communities with their ongoing
programs. In addition to tribes, the movement combines the efforts of the first lady’s Let’s Move! program, White House Domestic Policy Council, Corporation for National and Community Service, Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Education.

“It’s kind of one of those things that it’s all so good and everybody can see just how they can fold into it,” Hipp said. “For instance, Indian Health Service they have a lot of health nutrition materials  … [but] One broader part of information is starting out right, so that’s why one of the components of this is to improve having more baby friendly areas in Indian Health Service hospitals, clinics.”

IHS is committed to certifying 14 federal hospitals with obstetrics facilities as baby friendly by 2012 and promoting the practice and benefits of breastfeeding.

“Research has found that it (breastfeeding) is actually going to help decrease childhood obesity. It will also lower health costs; children who are breastfed have less diarrhea, have less ear infections, have less asthma, and have less of a lot of other respiratory problems. So in a sense, breastfeeding really helps improve the life of a child,” Butler said.

IHS also introduced two Healthy Weight for Life booklets in April. One book is geared toward health care providers and the other is geared to individuals, families and communities. The books cover the whole life span of an individual and can be downloaded for free at www.ihs.gov.

The goals of LMIC are to: “(1) create a healthy start on life for children; (2) create healthier learning communities; (3) ensure
families access to healthy, affordable, traditional food; (4) and, increase opportunities for physical activity.”

“I think we’re just going to see an explosion of interest and involvement,” Hipp said. “On the USDA end, we’re going to make sure
people talk about our food policy issues. We’ve challenged ourselves to start up 20-25 food policy councils within the first year. We’re
going to try to get that and try to get people reporting in.”

The USDA food policy councils work to better food production opportunities and the accessibility of locally grown foods. Hipp said
the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) is working on an effort to guide tribal governments on how to set up food policy councils.

“They are so important because they really get people from all over the community meeting regularly to talk about food, nutrition and
health which is really good because it gets everybody’s minds around what they can do,” Hipp said. “We take it for granted and so we can
just stop long enough to really think about how to make our communities a little more self reliant on food and how we purchase
food and how we purchase it for the school.”

Part of the Lets Move! project is to improve the healthy food choices in schools through programs such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). In addition, 70, 000 people in Indian Country participate in the USDA’s Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR) program each month, which has made more fruits and vegetables available.



Hipp said tribal leaders have also discussed building community gardens within their tribal housing areas, and several months before launching LMIC there was consultation with NCAI in order to get more input.

“We commend the first lady for being a positive influence in the life of Native young people. Let’s Move! in Indian Country will energize a generation of tribal youth to connect to their traditional ways of healthy living,” Jefferson Keel, NCAI president, said. “When it comes to staying healthy, Native youth face more challenges and obstacles than most.  Let’s Move is an important effort in reaching out to provide solutions for our young people.”

LMIC is also offering a Presidential Active Lifestyle Award Challenge. People can sign up individually or as a group and commit to a physical activity at least six days a week. To begin the challenge, visit www.presidentschallenge.org/lmic. To see the Nike N7 Athlete Ambassadors promoting LMIC visit www.nike7.com.

For more information about LMIC visit
www.doi.gov/letsmove/indiancountry/index.cfm.