First Nations’ Jackie Francke Named to USDA Advisory Council

Posted on March 18, 2016 by rblauvelt

Jackie Francke

In March 2016, First Nations’ own Jackie Francke (Navajo), vice president of programs and administration, was appointed to the USDA Regional Tribal Conservation Advisory Council (RTCAC) for the West Region. This is an advisory body for the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service. Jackie will serve as a tribal organization representative, along with others who were appointed as tribal representatives.

The RTCAC will provide communications between the tribal entities and the conservation service, and gather feedback on tribal issues. Representatives provide a direct line of communication between tribes, tribal affiliates and Native organizations such as First Nations, and the conservation service. The RTCAC provides a needed platform under which the conservation service and tribes can work together at the state and local levels on conservation issues. The advisory council will assist the conservation service in identifying ways to improve relationships with tribes as it relates to these and other issues:

Providing quality service through programs and service, including technical and financial assistance.
Promoting strong partnerships and teamwork.
Providing tribes the opportunity to offer feedback on agency programs and services.
Assisting tribes in enhancing their capacity in natural resources conservation.
Delivering the most effective resource conservation technology.

Congratulations Jackie!

First Nations’ Dr. Raymond Foxworth & Others Collect Honors

Posted on November 18, 2015 by rblauvelt

Raymond Foxworth, Ph.D.

In October 2015, our own Raymond Foxworth, Ph.D., vice president of grantmaking, development and communications, was selected as one of 12 outstanding leaders from Independent Sector’s member organizations for the 2015 American Express NGen Fellows Program. In its seventh year, this selective fellowship program continues to build the next generation of nonprofit and philanthropic leaders as part of Independent Sector’s NGen: Moving Nonprofit Leaders from Next to Now initiative.

The American Express NGen Fellows program builds the leadership skills of nonprofit and philanthropic leaders ages 40 and under to tackle society’s toughest challenges. Over the course of a year, Fellows participate in a range of activities that deepen their individual capabilities, expand their collective knowledge, and grow their professional networks. Learn more here.

Also in October, Raymond was named to the 2015 class of “Native American 40 Under 40” award recipients by The National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development. This prestigious award is bestowed upon individuals under the age of 40, nominated by members of their communities, who have demonstrated leadership, initiative, and dedication and made significant contributions in business and their community. You can read more here.

Our hearty congratulations to Raymond!

Further, several of our top people were selected to participate in the American Express Leadership Academy/Center for Creative Leadership training in New York City. They are Raymond; Sarah Dewees, Ph.D., our senior director of research, policy and asset-building programs; Jackie Francke, who is vice president of programs and administration; and Marsha Whiting, one of our senior program officers.

The academy focuses on building the personal, business and leadership skills needed to run a successful nonprofit organization. It is tailored to fit cultural nuances and different nonprofit niche needs, and it includes the following core elements:

A focus on high-potential, emerging leaders through a competitive nomination and selection process that seeks to build a diverse cohort of nonprofit managers who represent a range of experiences, backgrounds and industries.
A curriculum blending personal leadership skills with business skills.
An assessment-based approach, including one-on-one coaching and formal follow-up activities

The program serves only 48 participants per year at the American Express headquarters in New York.

Our hearty congratulations to Sarah, Jackie and Marsha, too!

Rebuilding Community & Food Systems on Pine Ridge

Posted on January 9, 2015 by rblauvelt

On the Pine Ridge Reservation, collaboration, partnerships, alliances – call it what you will – but it’s working, and the community is reaping the benefits of its efforts “to saturate Pine Ridge with healthy vegetables,” which is a goal of Steve Hernandez, who manages the Lakota Ranch Beginning Farmer/Rancher Program in Kyle, South Dakota. (First Nations has supported the program with grants.)

“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Helen Keller

Incorporated in 2011, the Lakota Ranch Beginning Farmer/Rancher (BFR) Program has been facilitating and coordinating collaboration among local community groups in Pine Ridge with the intent of strengthening local food systems, reviving the economy and increasing access to fresh foods. Through local collaborations it has provided classes and workshops to local community members on horticulture, food preparation, irrigation and business planning, which has re-engaged the community in growing its own food, teaching kids where their food comes from, and increasing access to fresh foods.

Steve Hernandez, while being videotaped at First Nations' 2014 L.E.A.D. Conference

Over the last few years, the Lakota Ranch BFR Program, in partnership with other local groups, has been instrumental in organizing and implementing a local community garden that has led to the development of a farmers’ market located at Oyate Teca Youth Center in Kyle, in addition to a mobile farmers’ market. With the garden and market located at the youth center, students are able to participate in the garden, learn how to prepare the produce, and have immediate access to fresh vegetables and healthy foods. For the community, the farmers’ market and garden provide a place where community members can purchase raw vegetables as well as value-added products. (First Nations has also supported Oyate Teca.)

While the garden provides learning for the kids, the Lakota Ranch BFR Program also works to coordinate with other organizations like Oglala Lakota College and Oyate Teca in providing adult courses in financial literacy, business planning, food preparation, and horticulture.

In three years of operation, the Lakota Ranch BFR Program and its partners have achieved a great deal, but they insist they have only begun as they look forward to the goals of a mobile commercial kitchen, supplying local produce to Pine Ridge schools, increasing the number of farmers in the community, selling value-added products, and reviving the local economy.

The strategy to collaborate with others, centralize efforts and utilize resources efficiently is proving that Native communities are capable and innovative, they just need a little help in planting the seed.

By Jackie Francke, First Nations Director of Programs & Administration

Molokai “Superheroes” See Sustainable Future

Posted on September 15, 2014 by rblauvelt

A bamboo building being constructed by Sust ‘āina ble Molokai in order to store produce.

For a period of my son’s childhood, his daily attire consisted of a superhero costume and cape, flying about the house, working to save us and our dogs from a catastrophic meteor. As his trusty sidekick, I assisted our superhero in saving the world by making sure he had a sturdy cape, healthy meals, and the strength to fight the good battle — sidekick duties I enjoyed just as much as I enjoy assisting with our community superheroes in my work at First Nations Development Institute (First Nations).

Papaya is among the produce under cultivation.

At First Nations, we work with community superheros on a daily basis through assistance and support as they strive to revive local foods systems, combat predatory lenders, and protect the sovereignty of Native people. In restoring local food systems, our superheros work incognito as volunteers, board members, executive directors, staff members and tribal council members. Their work in protecting native seeds, reviving agriculture and rebuilding regional trade routes contributes to the defeat of obesity and diabetes, the increased access to fresh food and restoration of self-sufficiency in our Native communities.

One such organization is Sust ‘āina ble Molokai, located on the island of Molokai, Hawaii, in Kaunakakai. Situated approximately 55 miles southeast of Honolulu and seven miles from the island of Maui, the island has lush, beautiful scenery as well as bountiful land prime for farming. Since 2010 Sust ‘āina ble Molokai has been taking a community-wide approach to restoring a thriving, sustainable Molokai. Efforts that have included conducting community agricultural and energy assessments, installing energy efficient refrigerators, replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs and working toward the availability of electric vehicles and charging stations throughout the community.

Malia Akutagawa, one of the founders of Sust ‘āina ble Molokai

Under the First Nations Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative (NAFSI) project, these superheros are working to revive small agriculture and develop a food hub as a pathway to regaining control of their local food system and generate economic opportunities for the island. With 90 percent of the food arriving by barge, the island is designated a food desert, in which residents do not have ready access to fresh affordable foods. This dependency on the twice-weekly barge arrivals is what drives the staff and board members of Sust ‘āina ble Molokai. As one of the founders, Malia Akutagawa notes, “We were called the abundant land and envied by all for the wealth and bounty of our island. We gave from our infinite store because we always perceived that there was more than enough. There was never a lack, only in the perception and limitations imposed by our own minds.”

Today the land has degraded as a result of overgrazing and fish ponds have become catchment basins for topsoil washed away by heavy rains. But, through efforts by Sust ‘āina ble Molokai, gardens are reviving, kids are learning about where their food comes from, and healthy foods are once again becoming a part of the community.

The work of Sust ‘āina ble Molokai helps preserve part of paradise.

Like many of our food superheros, Sust ‘āina ble Molokai works tirelessly. They are dedicated to restoring the local food system and with support and assistance from First Nations through funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, they are making it happen. It was an honor to visit with the staff, volunteers, families and board members during a recent site visit that enabled us to witness the construction of their first “food hub” packaging center and outdoor classroom made of bamboo, partake in the fresh produce grown in the school garden used to educate the students on where their food comes from, and assist leadership in fine-tuning the organization’s compass so that they can continue to excel.

It was great to see on-the-ground efforts that bring to life the inspiration and dedication of these superheros. As their trusty sidekick, we appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the mission, to advocate on their behalf and to celebrate in their success. After all, every superhero should have a trusty sidekick for support.

(For more information on Sust ‘āina ble Molokai, please visit http://sustainablemolokai.org/. To see a short video, visit https://www.dropbox.com/s/tm13v5tteccqmtp/Sustainable%20Molokai%20FINAL.mp4?dl=0)

By Jackie Francke, First Nations Director of Programs and Administration

A-dae Romero: A Happy Success Story for Native Agriculture

Posted on September 8, 2014 by rblauvelt

A-dae at home in Lanai, Hawaii

First Nations Development Institute (First Nations) is always happy and proud when our grantees and the various projects we have supported achieve good success and begin to make positive ripples in Indian Country. We’re happy and proud a lot because we have many of these stories, but one of the recent ones is about our good friend A-dae Romero.

A-dae first flew onto First Nations’ radar in 2011 when we provided her with a USDA Community Food Projects travel scholarship to attend our L.E.A.D. Conference. At the time, A-dae was thinking of starting a nonprofit organization related to food.

That thought soon became reality with a new organization called Cochiti Youth Experience, Inc. at Cochiti Pueblo in New Mexico. (A-dae was born and raised in Cochiti Pueblo. She is Cochiti and Kiowa.) She co-founded this nonprofit so it could create positive opportunities for Cochiti’s young people, and it has a special focus on strengthening Pueblo agriculture as an economic, political and social anchor for the community. First Nations provided a grant to assist Cochiti Youth Experience in 2012 under First Nations’ Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative, then another grant in 2013 under our Native Youth and Culture Fund.

Since then, A-dae has continued to accomplish good things, both personally and professionally. She recently received important honors and achieved major milestones that recognize her growing impact, especially in Native American agriculture.

A-Dae (front and center in gray suit) at The White House for the "Champions of Change" honors.

In July 2014, The White House and the U.S. Department of Agriculture honored A-dae as one of 15 local “Champions of Change” leaders from across the country “who are doing extraordinary things to build the bench for the next generation of farming and ranching. These champions are leading in their industries and communities, inspiring others who want to find careers and a life on the land, and providing food, fiber, fuel, and flora around the world.”

Then, she was recently named a U.S. Fulbright Scholar, a very prestigious academic accomplishment. She will use it to study the Maori people of New Zealand. Then Agri-Pulse, a national agricultural news source, included her as one of the most influential rural agricultural advocates in its “50 Under 50” report.

Further, A-dae recently completed her LL.M. (master of law) degree in agricultural and food law through the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University of Arkansas School of Law. A-dae was the initiative’s first student to complete this multi-disciplinary research, service and educational opportunity, and the initiative itself is the first of its kind nationally. This advanced law degree comes on top of her J.D. (juris doctorate) degree from Arizona State University’s College of Law, and her degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs (her focus was on public policy and economic policy).

A-dae now acts as a consultant with First Nations Development Institute on several of our Native Agriculture and Food Systems Initiative efforts, plus she walks in two worlds by farming with her family in New Mexico – raising blue corn and varieties of Pueblo corn – and farming with her husband’s family in Hawaii, growing taro. She also serves on the board of Native American Farmers and Ranchers through New Mexico Community Capital, and on the board of the Native American Food Sovereignty Alliance (NAFSA). And, she was just named a legal researcher for the International Development Law Organization (IDLO), in partnership with the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), for the new Global Network on Legal Preparedness for Achieving the Aichi Biodiversity Targets.

After earning her LL.M. degree, First Nations honored A-dae at our offices in Colorado. Left to right are Jackie Francke and Marsha Whiting of First Nations, A-dae, and Sarah Hernandez and Raymond Foxworth of First Nations.

It’s no wonder A-dae is becoming a leader in Native agriculture. According to the Agri-Pulse article, her grandfather was a leader among his people. When construction of the Cochiti Dam flooded agricultural land used by their tribe, A-dae was just a child. Yet she remembers playing nearby as her grandfather and other leaders discussed the loss of the land for farming, which was vital to the pueblo’s livelihood.

A-dae said it was “very intimate and powerful time” in her life, as the community, dependent on agriculture, struggled with the question of who they would be without farming. As she began to develop an interest in a profession that could help her to be a voice of her culture, she found a mentor who encouraged her to pursue her dreams of law school. Since then she has found a fertile and fruitful field of endeavor at the intersection of law and agriculture.

“After all,” she said in the Agri-Pulse interview, “farming is about getting our hands dirty, and there is a simple kind of happiness in that.”

By Randy Blauvelt, First Nations Senior Communications Officer