Tribal Food Systems Research Fellowship

A Fellowship that Centers Indigenous Voices

2023 Tribal Food Systems Research Fellows Gathering.

The Tribal Food Systems Research Fellowship was created to amplify the voices of tribal food sovereignty practitioners and tribal scholars by supporting their research and publication efforts that center Indigenous voices and values. Research from Native voices, experiences, and worldviews provides the cultural context essential to fully understand the relationships between tribal nations and their food systems. Our research fellowship engages and connects Native researchers with an advisory council and resources to support native food systems knowledge and perspectives in published journals. 

2026 Research Fellows 

In the 2026 – 2028 Tribal Food Systems Research Fellowship, 14 fellows will receive $60,000 over 24-months in financial support, mentoring, and writing support to advance the research and publication efforts of Native researchers and Tribal Food system practitioners. Selected fellows will participate in online and in-person program convenings to network, connect, and receive peer- feedback with other Native researchers as they each work to complete two journal publications. Fellows will also have the opportunity to present their work at a First Nations convening to share their research with other Native practitioners representing many disciplines and communities. The fellows will be supported through the peer-reviewed publication process by our partnered advisors and have the opportunity to submit their work to a peer-reviewed journal with an Indigenous review process.

This fellowship is an invitation-only opportunity extended to identified practitioners and scholars through a nomination process.  

Publishing Partner 

The Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development (JAFSCD) features many of the fellow’s research. JAFSCD gives voice to community practitioners who work on food system issues in partnership with academic collaborators. The research published through the fellowship highlights the fellows’ work and their essential voices in fully understanding our relationships with food systems and how food is interwoven into all aspects of culture, environment, economies, and health. 

See published work from the Research Fellows in, “Winter 2024–2025: Indigenous Knowledge at the Food Systems Forefront.” Access the issue here. 

Fellowship Advisors and Evaluator 

• Devon Mihesuah (Choc-taw and Chickasaw), Professor in the Humanities Program at the University of Kansas.   

• Keith Williams (who has ancestry from Tyendinaga, a Mohawk community in Canada), Assistant Professor in the faculty of Humanities at Athabasca University 

• John Phillips, Chief of Staff at the American Indian Higher Education Consortium evaluated the project. 

Supporters

The fellowship is made possible with generous support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the First Nations’ Keepseagle Endowment. 

In the inaugural 2023 year of the Tribal Food Systems Research Fellowship, 10 fellows each received $30,000 in support of their research and publication efforts.