Health Secretary RFK Jr. visits Idaho Tribe, discusses food sovereignty

LENORE, Idaho — U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. visited the Nez Perce Tribal fish hatchery to meet with Tribal leadership and key fisheries staff to discuss the importance of preserving traditional foods and tribal cultural practices.

Although Kennedy visited Idaho in July, he posted the video on social media on Sunday, Aug. 24. The Nez Perce Tribe also reposted the video. 

Kennedy participated in a drum circle during his visit to the hatchery complex in Lenore, where he toured facilities dedicated to salmon and lamprey restoration efforts. The visit highlighted the Tribe’s ongoing work to rebuild salmon populations.

The health secretary’s visit comes as the Nez Perce Tribe continues efforts to restore traditional food systems that have sustained their people for generations. Salmon has long been a cornerstone of Nez Perce culture, diet and spiritual practices. Still, populations have declined dramatically over the past century.

During his tour, Kennedy observed hatchery operations and met with the Chairman of the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee (NPTEC), Shannon F. Wheeler, and other Tribal officials. The discussions focused on connections between traditional foods, cultural preservation and public health outcomes in Tribal communities.

The Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery represents part of broader efforts by Pacific Northwest Tribes to exercise treaty rights and restore salmon runs that once supported robust fisheries throughout the Columbia River Basin. The Tribe has been working to increase salmon populations through hatchery programs, habitat restoration and advocacy for dam removal.

Following his visit, Kennedy expressed gratitude to the Tribe on social media, writing about their “vision for food sovereignty, cultural survival, and environmental stewardship.”

Kennedy’s role as health secretary has included an array of decisions that many medical professionals have contested regarding his appointment and oversight of health agencies.