Donor Perspective: First Nations Inspires Communities & Innovation

Posted on November 17, 2014 by rblauvelt

First Nations donor Tiana Melquist attended this year's L.E.A.D. Conference

I come from a long line of Eastern Band Cherokees that my great uncle George Owl once described as “mixers.” He was referring to a family who resisted removal from their homeland and the damaging effects of assimilation, but who also explored the world beyond the reservation. They mixed with people of many races, worked side by side with Indians and non-Indians, and actively pursued their own education so they could be of service to Native Americans. As a person who lives and works off the reservation, it has been important for me to find ways to stay connected to this tribal and family legacy and to support work that benefits Indian communities throughout the U.S. This is one of the reasons I support First Nations Development Institute (First Nations).

In September, I was fortunate to attend the 2014 First Nations L.E.A.D. Institute Conference, which stands for Leadership and Entrepreneurial Apprenticeship Development. Over my two days at the event, I connected with the people who are making a difference in Indian Country through the support of First Nations’ grants and initiatives.

“First Nations is helping to build a sustainable future for Native America by supporting the people who live in and are deeply invested in Native communities. Having seen and experienced this organization firsthand, I urge you also to support the work of First Nations; there is so much more that we can all accomplish.”

At meetings and meals, I witnessed former colleagues and college friends reuniting and encouraging one another in their lives and work. I saw young professionals using their education, ambition and ingenuity to tackle the urgent problems in Indian Country.

First Nations President Michael Roberts addresses L.E.A.D. attendees

I spoke with established leaders in education, law and politics who are taking stock of the needs and assets of their tribes and making action plans for both the short and long term. It made me wish I could tell my grandfather, Frell Owl, about the good work these dedicated individuals are carrying out. He was an early pioneer in the movement of Indian people taking leadership in their own community development.

I sat transfixed as First Nations’ grantees described the process of turning an idea into a successful program with the support of First Nations. These presentations inspired me to get to work, especially on a problem that is near to my heart: the widespread problem of Indian food deserts (the lack of access to healthy and affordable food for Native people). First Nations programs are tackling this issue in creative ways through community food assessments, farms and gardens, farmers’ markets, food trucks, school lunches and community meals. In fact, the need is so great for programs such as this, that First Nations is only able to support 7% of the projects requesting their funding for Native agriculture and food systems initiatives.

Panelists from funding organizations provide insights into grantmaking

As a supporter of First Nations, being at the conference validated the reasons I was originally attracted to this organization – their programs are local, progressive, ambitious and relevant. First Nations is helping to build a sustainable future for Native America by supporting the people who live in and are deeply invested in Native communities. Having seen and experienced this organization firsthand, I urge you also to support the work of First Nations; there is so much more that we can all accomplish.

By Tiana Melquist, First Nations Donor (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians)

Anti-Hunger Initiatives Help Older Native Americans

Posted on July 14, 2014 by rblauvelt

L to R are Harley Coriz of Santo Domingo, Maggie Biscarr of AARP Foundation, and George Toya of Nambe

In Indian Country, finding a restaurant is easy – if you want to eat at a fast-food chain that serves cheap, fattening meals. Native American cuisine now typically means fry bread, a disk of dough deep-fried in oil or lard. Few stores sell fresh produce on reservations. And, perhaps surprisingly, farmers’ markets are practically impossible to find.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture deems most reservations “food deserts” — low-income areas where many people lack access to nutritional foods. According to the Center for Rural Health, about 6 in 10 Native Americans age 55 and older survive on between $5,000 and $10,000 a year. The brutal one-two punch of rampant poverty and low-quality food hits tribal elders particularly hard. A 2013 study by First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) found that American Indian seniors “now suffer from higher rates of congestive heart failure, high blood pressure, diabetes and stroke than the general population age 55 and older.”

To help end chronic hunger among older Native Americans, AARP Foundation has awarded $438,000 to First Nations Development Institute since 2012. The nonprofit based in Longmont, Colorado, in turn provided grants, training and technical assistance to several innovative programs that aim to improve nutrition for American Indian seniors while fostering community. “First Nations does a really good job finding tribes that have the capacity and the need, and that’s a fine line,” says Maggie Biscarr, program manager for AARP Foundation’s Hunger Impact area. “You have to work with groups that really need it — and have some level of capacity to deliver.”

First Nations recently awarded $25,000 sub-grants to four tribes in Arizona, New Mexico, North Dakota and Wisconsin for anti-hunger initiatives. The second round of funding follows a $100,000 grant distributed in 2012 for four innovative projects, including the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma’s Healthy Pork initiative; the Traditional Food Systems Revitalization Project of the Santo Domingo Pueblo in New Mexico; and the Pueblo of Nambe’s Community Farm, also in New Mexico.

“We are pleased to again support an organization that has a proven record in hunger relief, and look forward to watching the new programs grow in impact for Native American elders,” says AARP Foundation President Lisa Marsh Ryerson.

Amos Hinton from the Ponca Tribe

Amos Hinton, director of agriculture for the Ponca Tribe, reports that his program has bred, processed and distributed more than 6,000 pounds of free-range pork since 2012. “Commercial agriculture has gone so far away from the way animals were intended to be raised and grain was meant to be grown,” says Amos, who frets that many of his neighbors subsisted on “low-end processed lunch meats from cans” if they could afford meat at all. When Amos delivered locally raised, hormone-free pork to an elderly woman shortly after launching his project, he remembers being told, I’m so glad to see you, because I didn’t know how we were going to eat for the rest of the week. “That bothered me — really, really bothered me,” admits Amos, who is in the process of breeding four more pigs.

The AARP Foundation grant enabled the Pueblo of Nambe to buy a second-hand tractor, tools, and seeds, and to pay for some labor to build a 20-by-40-foot hoop house. The structure, made of flexible plastic over a wood frame, harnesses solar radiation to extend the growing season. Before the hoop house was built, George Toya, the Pueblo’s farm manager, estimated that his growing season started in May and ended in late September. After completion, the season doubled and now lasts from late February until November. The farm produces lettuce, spinach, beets and carrots, as well as the venerated chili pepper. “Chilies are everything here,” notes George, who donates much of the harvest to the community’s senior center.

When George was growing up, he remembers cutting wheat by hand with a sickle along with his father, grandfather and many neighbors: “When one field ripened and was ready to cut, [local] farmers came over and helped.” His family gladly returned the favor. “The work went really quick,” says George, who believes Nambe’s community farm has revived a communal spirit. “It’s starting to come back again.”

Harley inside the Santo Domingo greenhouse

The Pueblo of Santo Domino’s Traditional Food Systems Revitalization Project grows not only traditional crops but also relationships, says Harley Coriz, who oversees the local senior center. The grant they received enabled the tribe to build a greenhouse, where vegetables for seniors grow during winter. The venture connects tribal elders and youth who plant and harvest corn, melons and tomatoes, and other fruits and vegetables. “The seniors teach youths the names of plants in the native tongue,” says Harley, who points out that the program yields an unexpected benefit: empowering women volunteers. “Mainly males did the farming, so a lot of the older ladies have never planted before and they were really enthused,” he notes.

“Everything is centered around agriculture in our society,” Harley continues. “We plant as a community, we harvest as a community and — they tell us growing up — life begins with putting seeds into the ground.”

This article, by David Wallis, was written and published by AARP Foundation, Bob Somerville, editor. It is reprinted here with permission from AARP Foundation’s Drive to End Hunger nationwide campaign.

New Free Publications & Webinars Announced

Posted on March 19, 2014 by rblauvelt

We’ve been busy during the first quarter of 2014. We published three new resources for Native American communities, plus we announced the 2014 calendar of our highly popular “First Nations Knowledge” webinar series.

The Business of Indian Agriculture

After months of research, writing, editing and designing the publication, we just published “The Business of Indian Agriculture,” a comprehensive curriculum for Native American farmers, ranchers and other agricultural producers that can be downloaded for free from the First Nations website. It is designed to be used by tribal college instructors, extension agents or workshop instructors. It includes both a 562-page Instructor Guide and a 323-page Participant Workbook.

The curriculum is designed to help farmers, ranchers and agricultural producers succeed in managing their businesses. It covers useful topics like how to develop a business plan, how to set up bookkeeping systems, and marketing. It also covers important topics like risk management, personal financial management, and using credit wisely.

The project was supported by the USDA-NIFA Beginning Farmer and Rancher Program, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the CHS Foundation. Development of the curriculum was made possible through a partnership between First Nations and the First Americans Land-Grant Consortium (FALCON), which is a nonprofit professional association of administrators, faculty and staff of land-grant tribal colleges and universities. FALCON is sanctioned by the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC). John Phillips, who is executive director of FALCON, was the primary author. Phillips is also the land-grant program director for AIHEC.

The curriculum has five main modules:

Module 1: Business
Module 2: Accounting
Module 3: Financial Management
Module 4: Agribusiness Economics and Marketing
Module 5: Land Use and Management

The curriculum is offered free to anyone. It can be viewed as an online “flipbook” or it can be downloaded as PDFs. Interested parties can also request a Word version of the materials to use and/or adapt for their own classes or other uses. To access the materials, please go to this link: www.firstnations.org/knowledge-center/foods-health/biz_of_indian_ag.

Health & Food Fact Sheets

We also published a new series of 12 fact sheets concerning Native American health and food issues. You can read them or download them (as PDFs) from our website. They are absolutely free, but you may have to create a free account in our Knowledge Center (our online resource center) in order to access them. If you already have a free account in our Knowledge Center, you can get right to them after you sign in.

Here’s the link: http://firstnations.org/KnowledgeCenter/NativeAmericanFoodsAndHealth/Resources/FactSheets

The list of topics covered:

Native Food Sovereignty
History of Native Food Systems
Food Systems and Implications for Economic Development
Type 1 Diabetes In Native Communities
Type 2 Diabetes In Native Communities
Heart Disease in Native Communities
Obesity in Native Communities
Food Deserts, Food Insecurity and Poverty in Native Communities
Commodity Foods and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program
Traditional Native Foods and Health
Reclaiming Native Food Systems and Promoting Cultural Practices
Eating Healthy in Native Communities

These Fact Sheets were created as part of our Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (NAFSI), and were generously underwritten by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

American Indian Leadership

We also published a 78-page report titled “American Indian Leadership: Strengthening Native Communities and Organizations.” It is available for free on our Knowledge Center at this link: http://firstnations.org/knowledge-center/strengthening-nonprofits.

The report gives an historical perspective of Native American leadership styles, including what led to the development of tribal governments and Indian-led organizations today, and it looks at the state of existing Native leadership programs across the U.S. The publication was underwritten by Northwest Area Foundation.

Here’s an excerpt from the Executive Summary: “Despite attempts to diminish, belittle and totally transform Native concepts, belief systems and values of leadership, strong leadership remains one of the most important assets in Native communities. American Indian leaders have held steadfast to tribal belief systems and values and fought for the preservation and perpetuation of Native identity, land and sovereignty. Leaders of Native nations today are still committed to these values. Native leaders still recognize that strong, ethical and innovative leadership from various sectors has the ability to transform American Indian communities.”

Here’s the link again. Then select “American Indian Leadership: Strengthening Native Communities and Organizations.” http://firstnations.org/knowledge-center/strengthening-nonprofits.

2014 Webinar Series

For the second year in a row, we announced we will host a series of free webinars called “First Nations Knowledge” during 2014. This year’s series focuses on food safety, and will provide specialized and technical webinars to develop the capacity of tribes, Native businesses, farmers, ranchers and other individuals involved in growing, processing, packaging and/or marketing food products.

We will present the webinars in partnership with the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville. Each webinar will last 1-1/2 hours, with the first hour for presentations followed by a half-hour of questions and answers.

The first of this year’s nine-part series was held on March 20. It was the first of two webinars on biological, chemical, radiological and physical hazards. The second part will be scheduled for April.

Over the webinar series, presenters from the University of Arkansas will include Steven C. Seideman, Ph.D., who is extension food processing specialist at the Institute of Food Science & Engineering; Janie Simms Hipp, J.D., LL.M. (Agricultural Law) (Chickasaw), who serves as founding director of the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative; and John Marcy, Ph.D., a food microbiologist with more than 35 years associated with the meat and poultry industries.

The planned remaining schedule for this year is as follows. Dates will be formalized on a monthly basis, and scheduling or topics may change depending on availability of expert presenters. To receive information about each webinar as it is scheduled, follow First Nations on Facebook and Twitter or sign up to receive informational emails from First Nations at this link. You can also check on the First Nations Knowledge webpage at this link: http://firstnations.org/programs/foods-health?qt-native_american_foods_health=7#qt-native_american_foods_health.

March (Completed) – Part 1: Biological, Chemical, Radiological and Physical Hazards
April – Part 2: Biological, Chemical, Radiological and Physical Hazards
May – Basic Legal Environment for Food Safety
June – Documentation and Record-keeping; Validation and Verification
July – Your Business Plan & Food Safety
August – The Five Principles of Good Agricultural Practices
September – Raw Products, Wild Products and Value-Added Products
October – Food Labeling, Nutrition and Allergens
November – Food Defense