Native American Foods & Health

AARP Foundation

AARP Foundation is AARP’s charitable affiliate, focused on helping win back opportunity for struggling 50+ individuals and their families. Drive to End Hunger is AARP Foundation’s nationwide initiative to raise awareness and develop long-term, sustainable solutions to hunger among nearly 9 million older adults.

Statistics indicate that approximately 12 percent of all Native Americans living in poverty are age 55 or older. Additionally, Native American seniors often suffer from higher rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related illnesses. The AARP Foundation contributed $187, 660 to improve the health and nutrition of Native American seniors.

The following four organizations received funding to increase food access and eliminate food insecurity among Native seniors:

Sipaulovi Development Corporation, Arizona – $25,000

Sipaulovi will work to ensure elder food security by reclaiming locally controlled food systems based on traditional knowledge, contemporary practices, and coming together for the common good. Activities will focus on restoring seed and water sources, reviving community farming and gardening, and growing, processing and sharing food in the traditional manner. The gardens will be a reliable source of healthy food for elders. Sipaulovi is a self-governing Hopi village founded in the early 1700s on Second Mesa, Arizona. Of the 900 village residents, 28% are elders over 55, while 40% are youth up to age 18.

Santo Domingo Pueblo, New Mexico – $25,000

Santo Domingo Pueblo will implement a traditional farming program to engage seniors, farmers and youth in the community. Through the purchase and development of a greenhouse, the seniors will plant and cultivate traditional crops. The seniors will work directly with youth on a weekly basis to provide traditional education around the interrelationship of agriculture and various cultural practices, including songs, dances and prayers. The seedlings cultivated in the greenhouse will be sold to community members and transplanted by elders and youth in a community field, where programming will continue throughout the summer and fall. At harvest time, elders and youth will work together to harvest crops for sale at local farmers markets and convenience stores.

Pueblo of Nambe, New Mexico – $25,000

The Pueblo of Nambe's Community Farm Project will use its local resources of land, water and sun to revitalize traditional agricultural knowledge while aiming to end food insecurity among seniors in the community. The Pueblo of Nambe’s project has four main components: the construction of a hoop-house, management of a program called “Inventory of Surplus,” establishment of a Senior Food Distribution Service, and the formation and operation of a food database. They hope that their efforts will not only help eliminate food insecurity among the Native senior population but also foster community involvement in food production and distribution.

Ponca Tribe, Oklahoma – $25,000

The Ponca Tribe will raise natural pork and provide it to tribal elders by way of its local food-distribution program and senior citizen center. The tribe will provide land for the venture, and the pork will be raised so as to ensure no hormones or other growth aids are used.

About the AARP Foundation
AARP Foundation is working to win back opportunity for struggling Americans 50+ by being a force for change on the most serious issues they face today: housing, hunger, income and isolation. By coordinating responses to these issues on all four fronts at once, and supporting them with vigorous legal advocacy, the Foundation serves the unique needs of those 50+ while working with local organizations nationwide to reach more people, work more efficiently and make resources go further. AARP Foundation is a charitable affiliate of AARP. Learn more at www.aarpfoundation.org.

Walmart Foundation

Healthy, sustainable food systems are critical to the well-being of Native children and families. In particular, sustainable food systems help promote health and contribute to the economic development of Native communities. In 2011, Walmart contributed $300,000 to help develop and expand sustainable food systems in the following Native communities:

Eyak Preservation Council, Alaska – $22,355

The Eyak Preservation Council is developing an environmentally friendly food-processing and cold-storage plant to support and preserve sustainable and independent food harvesting in rural Alaska.

Bay Mills Community College Land Grant Department, Michigan – $32,129

Bay Mills Community College is developing the capacity to produce, process and make available naturally raised poultry for the Bay Mills Indian Community.

White Earth Land Recovery Project, Minnesota – $32,200

The White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP) assists local growers with independent food production, recovery of local food system production, restoration of Native varieties of foods and to expand the farm-to-school pilot project. Download WELRP's new Indigenous farm to school guide, Indigenous Farm to School Programs: A Guide for Creating a Farm to School Program in an Indigenous Community.

Hays Community Economic Development Corporation, Montana – $30,117

Hays Community Economic Development Corporation has established a food co-op, developed a community garden, and provided classes on preparing wholesome meals, menu planning, and budgeting.

Cochiti Youth Experience at Cochiti Pueblo, New Mexico – $32,179

The Cochiti Youth Experience has created a localized food system by supporting existing farmers, instructing Cochiti youth on traditional farming techniques, and recreating the tradition of farming to strengthen the Cochiti community.

Hasbidito, New Mexico – $27,200

. Hasbidito increased Navajo-controlled food production infrastructure in three chapters on the eastern edge of the Navajo Nation – Counselor, Ojo Encino and Torreon – by increasing certified food-production sales, developing food entrepreneurs, providing healthy cooking classes and holding social events centered on healthy food.

Wind Hollow Foundation, Inc.,Oklahoma – $30,000

Wind Hollow Foundation is using their grant to provide for the completion of its business incubator for agribusiness, and to support a seasonal farmers market, a local farmer co-op and a greenhouse program.

Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, Wisconsin – $30,700

The Oneida Tribe is using their grant to support “Tsyunhehkwa,” a project that seeks to improve food-preservation processes of white corn. Additionally, this project is intended to help mitigate the negative effects of climate change and support a symposium for the other 10 tribes in Wisconsin that are working with traditional foods.

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Wisconsin – $31,200

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College will use their grant to support the continued development and expansion of canning and preserving classes, provide community members access to local foods throughout the year, and promote community farming and gardening.

About Philanthropy at Walmart
Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are proud to support initiatives that are helping people live better. From February 1, 2010 through January 31, 2011, Walmart and the Walmart Foundation gave $732 million in cash and in-kind gifts, including donating 257 million pounds of nutritious food to local food banks across America. The Foundation also supports education, workforce development, economic opportunity, environmental sustainability and health and wellness initiatives. Internationally, Walmart gave $66 million in cash and in-kind gifts to charitable organizations. To learn more, visit www.walmartfoundation.org.

W.K. Kellogg Foundation

In 2011, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Michigan awarded First Nations $2.88 million over three years to increase positive outcomes in Native children’s health and economic well-being. Statistics indicate that one in three Native children are obese or overweight by age five and that obesity leads to diet-related illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease and other health-related problems. To address the issue of childhood obesity, Kellogg and First Nations partnered to support initiatives aimed at enhancing Native control of local food systems – especially in addressing issues such as food insecurity, food deserts, and health and nutrition – while simultaneously bolstering much-needed economic development in those communities.

In 2013 First Nations awarded $375,000 in funding to ten Native organizations. The award amounts were $37,500 each. The 2013 grantees and projects are:

Big Pine Paiute Tribe of Owens Valley, Big Pine, California – Sustainable Food System Development Project

The tribe will create a permaculture demonstration garden and an organic seed bank on the Big Pine Indian Reservation, with the purpose of increasing availability of locally grown food as well as knowledge of sustainable gardening practices and native plants. The project will provide entrepreneurship opportunities through a farmers market, and will supply tools and equipment for the community garden and greenhouse.

Hunkpati Investments, Inc., Fort Thompson, South Dakota – Crow Creek Fresh Food Initiative

Due to low incomes, a general reliance on the federal food program, and a lack of affordable access to fresh fruits and vegetables in the area, Hunkpati aims to create a self-sufficient food economy on the Crow Creek Reservation through projects that support local fresh food production and local food entrepreneurs and increase the number of tribal youth familiar with food production and entrepreneurial opportunities. It will also work on developing value-added food products and a fresh-food financing product.

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Community College, Hayward, Wisconsin – Increasing Food Security Through Infrastructure, Research and Animal Husbandry Feasibility Assessments

Fish have been a traditionally significant source of protein for the Ojibwa people. Due to mercury and other contaminants, there are restrictions in the diets of children, childbearing women and those with other health issues. The group will seek methods to raise fish in safe and environmentally sound ways, and investigate tribal chicken and egg production as an expanded protein source.

Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, Washington – Muckleshoot Food Sovereignty Project

The project will address the difficulties they have in accessing traditional and local healthy foods due to a variety of reasons. It will foster initiatives that support community members in overcoming and addressing these barriers, such as developing gardens, providing food-related educational opportunities, creating a food sovereignty plan, and using community kitchen policies to create healthier, traditionally-based meals.

The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, Oneida, Wisconsin – Oneida Youth Food System Entrepreneur Project

The effort will provide youth with opportunities to learn about food systems and business, with the goal that more youth will develop business skills while becoming interested in agriculture and food industry careers. It will focus on creating a system where youth educate other youth on healthy local food, creating a sustainable youth business for website development, and increasing youth experience with technology and economics by providing incentives to participate in the program. With adult supervision and specialized curriculum, it will teach business management and financial record-keeping associated with the purchasing, processing and profits from selling agricultural products.

Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, Ponca City, Oklahoma – Egg Production for Us, by Us.

As another step toward tribal food sovereignty, the [Ponca Tribe will develop a chicken flock and egg-laying operation to provide the tribal store with fresh eggs. The reservation is considered a food desert and does not have access to fresh, quality eggs even at the nearest store, or even adequate transportation to that store for many tribal members.

Pueblo of Nambe, Nambe Pueblo, New Mexico – Nambe Pueblo Community Farm

The pueblo will expand its community farm to increase the output and diversity of the fresh, local foods produced there, with the goal of moving toward fiscal sustainability. The farm’s original intent was to combat food insecurity by providing free food, but with increased production it can also sell products to external markets while creating new youth jobs and a healthy business enterprise. Additionally, Nambe will explore developing its own brand and creating value-added products.

San Carlos Apache Tribe, San Carlos, Arizona – Traditional Western Apache Diet Project

To address several social issues and diet-relate diseases, and to build knowledge of nutrition, the tribe will create a detailed description and nutritional analysis of its pre-reservation Western Apache diet, work to retain valuable traditional knowledge and use it to inform strategies aimed at maintaining physical health and ecologically sustainable lifestyles, and make this knowledge available for community members to leverage in order to build health-related programs and businesses in Apache communities.

Taos County Economic Development Corporation, Taos, New Mexico – Native Food Sovereignty Alliance

The corporation is receiving continued funding for it to be the lead coordinator/organizer of a new Native American Food Security and Food Systems Alliance. The purpose of the alliance is to build a national Native movement and voice on Native food security and food-system control. This will include developing a collaborative group of Native leaders who are concerned with Native food security, hunger and nutrition issues.

Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders' Association Inc., Kamuela, Hawaii – Farming for the Working Class

Hawaiian homesteaders are qualified Native Hawaiians with land allotments for agricultural, residential or pastoral use. Only five of 150 agricultural lots in the Waimea homestead were being farmed when the program began. The goal is to empower numerous additional families with the resources they need to begin farming their fallow land and growing fresh produce for themselves and the community. The program consists of hands-on farm/greenhouse training, paired with classroom-based learning and business training. Creating additional farms will allow the community to reach the scale needed to access larger local markets.

In 2012 First Nations awarded over $436,000 to support eleven Native food-system projects.

View the 2012 Grantees

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Portland, Oregon - $44,403

The four treaty tribes (Nez Perce, Umatilla, Warms Springs and Yakama) have long used the river as an integral part of tribal culture, diet and economy. However, tribal fishermen have been at the bottom of the fish-marketing chain and have not shared in its full economic value. This project will improve that by developing an entrepreneurial program to teach proper food handling and harvest safety practices along with business and marketing strategies.

Diné College, Tsaile, Arizona - $44,959

The project will address the lack of access to healthy, affordable and traditional foods in the region directly around the college and revitalize traditional food systems by establishing a regional food policy and a farmers market, and conducting public education about Navajo food-system issues and agriculture.

Hunkpati Investments, Inc., Fort Thompson, South Dakota - $45,000

The initiative will provide fresh vegetables, gardening and entrepreneurial education, and youth employment on the Crow Creek Reservation. A planned community garden will have 10 personal plots for community members, leaving the rest for communal gardening. The project will facilitate community-wide farmers markets, provide nutrition and gardening education via the Boys and Girls Club, and will provide work for teens by hiring them to care for the garden and run the farmers markets.

Inupiat Community of the Arctic Slope, Barrow Alaska - $44,660

Provide locally grown vegetables, herbs and edible flowers by using innovative technology to grow organic produce hydroponically with Tower Gardens® and LED lights, thus eliminating the need for soil and, during the winter, sunlight. The produce will allow Arctic Slope natives to improve their diets and long-term health. Currently available plant-based foods are prohibitively expensive. The project also will allow the school system to take advantage of a farm-to-school program.

Northwest Indian College, Bellingham, Washington - $43,703

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community is committed to strengthening its food systems to improve the health of members through increased access to fresh produce. The recently established Swinomish Food Sovereignty Committee is developing a long-term food system plan. This project will complete a community garden space; provide education on gardening, food harvesting and preparation; and offer support and materials for home container gardens.

Oglala Sioux Parks and Recreation Authority, Kyle - South Dakota, $45,000

This project makes a traditional food source, buffalo, readily available to Oglala Lakota tribal members who otherwise would not have access to the meat. There is no outlet to purchase it on the Pine Ridge Reservation unless a tribal member purchases a bison hunt, which is limited and expensive for low-income families. The opportunity to buy processed buffalo meat allows tribal members to purchase just what they need instead of paying the cost of a hunt and the processing of hundreds of pounds of meat at a time. It will be available at tribal farmers market sites and transported in a mobile freezer truck to rural areas.

The Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, Oneida - Wisconsin, $34,861

The project will improve traditional food security through enhanced food-preservation processes of organic heirloom white corn (a culturally important tribal food), which will prevent crop loss due to mold, pests and insects. This project will address improvements in white corn harvesting, storage, shelling and the processing of products.

Painted Desert Demonstration Project (doing business as The STAR School), Flagstaff, Arizona - $44,334

The k-8 STAR School adjacent to the Navajo Nation will partner with the Navajo community of Sandsprings Farm on recently partitioned Hopi lands to pilot the first farm-to-school project in northern Arizona as a model for Navajo and Hopi schools and farms. They will collaborate to research and document state and federal requirements, certify the farm to supply public school meals, strengthen school gardens, prepare and disseminate a farm-to-school procedure manual, and mentor additional Navajo and Hopi initiatives.

Taos County Economic Development Corporation, Taos, New Mexico - $45,000

Taos County Economic Development Corporation will be the lead coordinator of a new Native American Food Security and Food Systems Alliance. The purpose of the Alliance will be to build a national Native movement and voice on Native food security and food system control. This will include developing a collaborative group of Native leaders who are concerned with Native food security, hunger and nutrition issues.

Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders’ Association, Inc., Kamuela, Hawaii - $45,000

The "Farming for the Working Class" program enables Native Hawaiian homesteaders to actively begin farming fallow land. It consists of hands-on training, classroom learning and business training. Wow Farm, a successful farming enterprise, developed a highly productive greenhouse. That system will be taught to participants, allowing them to grow healthy crops that provide additional income along with fresh produce.

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

The W.K. Kellogg Foundation, founded in 1930 by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Based in Battle Creek, Mich., WKKF works nationally and internationally, and engages with communities in priority places in across the U.S., Mexico and Haiti to create conditions that propel vulnerable children to realize their full potential in school, work and life. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.

Colorado Plateau Food Systems Capacity Building Project

The Colorado Plateau is a large geographic area covering parts of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. The development of power generation on the Colorado Plateau has negatively impacted tribes and Native communities in the area. In an effort to combat these challenges, The Christensen Fund and the USDA-Rural Community Development Initiatives have each donated $50,000 ($100,000 total) to improve their local food systems and strengthen their economies:

Diné bé Iiná (The Navajo Lifeway), Window Rock, Arizona

Diné bé Iina will work to promote economic development, maintain culture, provide food and restore farming. Diné bé Iiná is a nonprofit organization of producers and weavers that aims to assist sheep, goat and fiber producers on the Navajo Nation with technical and educational information that supports economic self-sufficiency.

Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Environmental Programs Department, Towaoc, Colorado

This grant will be used to implement a community garden and provide related educational and awareness activities. The department has assisted these efforts by organizing the garden planning group and advising on development strategy and funding considerations. Overall, the department is responsible for administering public health and environmental protection programs on the Ute Mountain Ute tribal lands.

White Mountain Apache Tribe Ndee Bikiyaa (People’s Farm), Whiteriver, Arizona

The People’s Farm is focused on achieving certification for their organic farming efforts with a mission to revitalize farming and agricultural practices by involving youth, elders and communities.

About The Christensen Fund
The Christensen Fund is a private foundation founded in 1957 and based in San Francisco, California. Since 2003, its focus has been bio-cultural diversity. Under a complex, holistic approach, the Fund seeks to support the resilience of living diversity at landscape and community level around the world in partnerships with indigenous peoples and others. Its grant-making programs are currently focused around five unusual geographic priority regions and selected global bio-cultural initiatives. More information can be found at www.christensenfund.org.

About the USDA-RCDI Grant

The purpose of the USDA-RCDI Grant is to develop the capacity and ability of private, nonprofit community-based housing and community development organizations, and low-income rural communities to improve housing, community facilities, community and economic development projects in rural areas.

This institution is an equal opportunity provider, and employer.

Cooperative Education Training on the Navajo Nation

In 2012, the CHS Foundation awarded a $35,000 Cooperative Education grant to increase opportunities for farmers and ranchers on the Navajo Nation. The Navajo Nation is the largest reservation in the U.S. This grant will allow First Nations to educate farmers and ranchers on potential opportunities through cooperatives and assess potential models that could be used to assist farmers and ranchers develop farm production cooperatives and marketing and supply cooperatives. These cooperatives are intended to help farmers and ranchers increase their access to agricultural resources marketing and supplies, and also help expose them to the latest technology.

About CHS Foundation

The CHS Foundation is the major giving entity of CHS Inc., the nation's leading farmer-owned cooperative. As a part of the CHS stewardship focus, the CHS Foundation is committed to investing in the future of rural America, agriculture and cooperative business through education and leadership development. For more information visit: http://www.chsfoundation.org.

Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance

First Nations Development Institute, in partnership with the Taos County Economic Development Corporation, is pleased to announce the formation of the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA). The formation of the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance took shape as a call from Native nations and grassroots organizations who expressed for the development of an organized and sustained food movement in Indian Country. The Alliance will be a vehicle to facilitate change in areas of tribal, regional and national policy on issues affecting Native food production and diet and be a support network for grassroots Native efforts as they work to revive tradition and community based food systems.

Webinar 1: Introduction to the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance

Date: January 31, 2013

Description:
First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) and Taos County Economic Development Corporation (TCEDC) invite you to attend the Introduction to the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA) webinar. The NAFSA project is a collaborative between First Nations and TCEDC to support the development of a sustainable, nonprofit, Native-controlled and nationally-active Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance that will operate independently to address Native food security, hunger and nutrition in Native American communities at the national, tribal and local levels. The purpose of the Alliance will be to build a national Native movement and voice on Native food security and food system control.

This webinar is for individuals, representatives and leaders from tribes and Native nonprofits interested in participating in a collaborative group concerned with Native food security, hunger and nutrition issues.

Presentation Materials:
View Recording of Webinar
Download Presentation
Download PDF Version of Survey

Webinar 2: Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance Next Steps

Date: TBD - Please check back soon for the registration link.

1st Face-to-Face Meeting

The LEAD Institute
Date: October 2-4, 2013
Location: TBD

Welcome to First Nations Knowledge Webinar Series

First Nations Knowledge in a series of educational webinars created and hosted by First Nations Development Institute. The series aims to educate Native Americans who are involved in food-systems work and agriculture, plus those who lead or work for Native nonprofit organizations. Through the webinars, we hope to build knowledge and skills and, thus, Native American business and organizational capacity.

The webinars are free and will last approximately one hour each. You must register for each one separately. Registration pages will be created for upcoming webinars on an ongoing basis, so you may have to return to this page to register for later sessions.

The schedule follows. Click on the webinar name to register. After registration, you will receive an email with additional details.

Upcoming Webinars:

Farm-to-School Best Practices - June 11, 2013
Community Engagement - June 20, 2013
Creating an Organizational Budget - July 18, 2013
Creating a Program Budget - July 25, 2013
Evaluation - Aug. 22, 2013
Co-operative Models – Sept. 19, 2013
Senior Citizen Hunger – Oct. 17, 2013

Previous Webinars:

Creating Sustainable Programs, May 23, 2013
Presentation Materials:

Recording of Webinar

Power Point Presentation

Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA) , April 25, 2013
Presentation Materials:

Recording of Webinar

Power Point Presentation

Business of Indian Agriculture – Best Financial Practices for Small Agribusiness I, Feb. 21, 2013
Presentation Materials:

Recording of Webinar

Powerpoint Presentation

Recordkeeping Resources Handouts

Production Record Sheet Template

Finance Record Sheet Template

Business of Indian Agriculture–Best Financial Practices for Small Agribusiness II, March 21, 2013
Presentation Materials:

Recording of Webinar

Powerpoint Presentation

Amortization Table

We also encourage you to sign up for First Nations’ e-mail list here in order to be advised of any changes or future webinars. Low-bandwith users may contact mwhiting@firstnations.org to request webinar materials.