Through passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, the USDA was authorized to develop a federal regulatory program for hemp production, including oversight and approval of plans submitted by states and Indian tribes in accordance with the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program. To date, six states (including Delaware, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Ohio, and Texas) have likewise received USDA approval.
Taken together, the tribes represent a combined 14,565 people among (according to 2010 U.S. Census figures) some 5.2 million Native Americans in the United States overall. If taken among the 2.9 million of those identifying exclusively as American Indian or Alaska Native, the combined population of hemp-involved tribes would total one-half of 1%.
Regardless, Native American tribes are looking at hemp as a tool for economic development. By and large, Native American communities have not benefited from the broader U.S. economic recovery which has led to historic low unemployment, even among low-wage workers. Many Native American communities have seen significant, long-termed structural unemployment, and are wondering whether cannabis can provide some substantive relief.
By the U.S. Census Bureau's own estimates, "American Indians and Alaska Natives living either on reservations or in Native villages were undercounted in the 2010 Census by approximately 4.9%, more than double the undercount rate of the next closest population group."
The post Ask Our Experts: Hemp and Native American Tribes appeared first on New Frontier Data.
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