Long overlooked Urban Indians exempt from SNAP work requirements

RAPID CITY – A major shift in federal food assistance policy is now in effect after the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025 (Public Law 119 21), signed on July 4, 2025. The law includes a sweeping exemption that removes all Able Bodied Adults Without Dependents (ABAWD) work requirements for American Indians and Alaska Natives, an historic change that tribal leaders say corrects decades of structural inequity in federal nutrition programs.

While many tribal members living on reservations were already exempt under previous SNAP rules, this new law extends the exemption to all Native people, including those living in urban areas such as Rapid City, Denver, Minneapolis, and Phoenix. For the first time, Urban Indians, whose poverty is often overlooked, are fully protected.

Federal agencies began issuing implementation guidance in fall 2025. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), the exemption is mandatory for all states and must be applied regardless of where a tribal member resides. State agencies cannot override or narrow the exemption.

What the law changes

Before the new law, ABAWD rules limited many adults to just three months of SNAP benefits within a three-year period unless they met an 80-hour monthly work or training requirement. These rules disproportionately harmed Native communities, where un- employment rates are often double the national average and job opportunities are limited by geography, infrastructure, and historic underinvestment.

Under the new statute, those restrictions no longer apply to Native people. The law states that ABAWD requirements “shall not apply” to any individual who meets the definition of “Indian” under the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (IHCIA). This includes:

• No 80 hour monthly work requirement

• No three-months-in-three-years time limit

• No mandatory community engagement activities

• No sanctions tied to ABAWD non-compliance

The exemption is automatic. Tribal members do not need to request it, though states may ask for documentation such as tribal enrollment cards or proof of eligibility for IHS services.

Why Congress included the exemption

Congressional leaders added the exemption after tribal organizations, health advocates, and Native policy experts warned that expanded work requirements would deepen food insecurity in Indian Country. Many reservations face chronic unemployment, limited transportation, and few training programs, conditions that make compliance with ABAWD rules nearly impossible.

A.C. Locklear, CEO of the National Indian Health Board, noted that more than 80 percent of tribal communities rely on federal nutrition and health programs. “The federal government agreed in treaties to provide for the health and well being of our people,” Locklear said in an interview with Nevada Public Radio. “This exemption honors that responsibility.”

Implementation timeline

USDA guidance issued in October 2025 instructs states to update their SNAP systems, staff training, and eligibility procedures to ensure that tribal members are not subjected to ABAWD rules. The agency emphasized that states must comply even if they have not yet updated their manuals or computer systems.

The new rules took effect nationally on November 1-2, 2025, alongside other SNAP changes in the bill, including adjustments to age ranges for work requirements for non-Native recipients.

Impact on Native communities

For many Native families, the exemption represents more than a policy change, it is a recognition of the unique economic and historical realities facing tribal nations. Food insecurity rates in Indian Country remain among the highest in the United States, and SNAP is often the most reliable source of monthly nutrition support.

Urban Indians, who make up the majority of Native people nationwide, often face the deepest inequities in employment and income. In cities like Rapid City, Native residents encounter persistent hiring discrimination, unstable low-wage work, limited access to transportation, and higher costs of living, all without the tribal infrastructure or support systems available on many reservations. These barriers make steady employment far more difficult to secure and maintain, which meant ABAWD rules disproportionately cut off Urban Indians from food assistance. The new exemption finally acknowledges these realities and ensures that Native people living in urban settings are no longer penalized for systemic inequities they did not create.

Tribal leaders and Native health organizations have praised the exemption as a long-overdue correction. They argue that tying food access to work requirements in communities with limited employment opportunities was never realistic or fair.

What Tribal Members Should Know

• The exemption is permanent unless Congress changes the law.

• It applies nationwide, regardless of residence.

• States must honor it, even if their SNAP systems are still being updated.

• Tribal ID or IHS eligibility documentation may be requested to verify status.

• Other SNAP rules still apply, including income and household eligibility.

A significant step toward equity

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act’s SNAP exemption marks one of the most consequential federal policy shifts for Native food security in decades. By removing punitive work requirements that never aligned with the realities of tribal economies, Congress has acknowledged both the federal trust responsibility and the treaty commitments made to tribal nations.

As implementation continues into 2026, tribal governments and Native serving organizations are urging states to train staff thoroughly, update their systems quickly, and ensure that no tribal member is wrongly subjected to ABAWD rules during the transition.

(Contact Ernestine Anunkasan Hopa at editor@nativesunnews.today)

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