Fellowship Opportunity - Deadline Dec. 5th!

Food Sovereignty & Human Rights Fellowship! Deadline is Dec. 5, so please act now and share with others! 

The Oak Institute for Human Rights at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, provides an opportunity every fall for a human rights activist to take a break from the front lines to rest and recharge in the beautiful state of Maine, all under an Oak Human Rights Fellowship. The fellowship comes with a stipend of $33,000, health care benefits, housing, a car and more, such as an office, access to the college’s computer and library resources, a student assistant and secretarial support. The institute always recruits candidates based on a theme, and the theme for this round is "food sovereignty and human rights," which includes the political, economic and environmental challenges of food production and food access by farmers, farm communities and the rural and urban poor.

Are you a candidate for this fellowship? Do you know someone who is? For information, see www.colby.edu/oakinstitute or contact Professor Walter Hatch via email at oakhr@colby.edu or phone at 207-859-5319.

Two New Native Food & Ag Publications Released

IFAI and First Nations Development Institute have jointly released two new publications that will prove valuable for Native American farmers, ranchers and food processors, as well as tribal policymakers. The reports, generously underwritten by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation through funding to First Nations, are: "Why a Model Food and Agriculture Code is Needed in Indian Country" by Janie Simms Hipp, J.D., LL.M. (Chickasaw), Director of IFAI, and "Maneuvering Challenges: An Overview of Food Safety for Tribal Producers" by Vena A-dae Romero, J.D., L.L.M. (Cochiti/Kiowa), a graduate of the LL.M. (Master of Laws) program in Agriculture and Food Law at the University of Arkansas, and the first Native lawyer graduate of the program since the launch of IFAI.

The publications are free and available for download from First Nations’ Knowledge Center.  (Note: you may have to create a free account to download the reports if you don’t already have one.)

DUS Arthur "Butch" Blazer Visits The University of Arkansas

Arthur "Butch" Blazer

USDA Deputy Under Secretary Arthur "Butch" Blazer (Mescalaro Apache) will be at the University of Arkansas Fayetteville campus on Friday, November 20th. The highlight of his visit will be a freeform lunch talk with students, which will cover topics ranging from climate change to conservation and sustainability, to USDA career possibilities in various disciplines.

The talk will be held 11:30 am - 1 pm in the Six Pioneers room in the Law Building. Sandwiches and chips will be available.

Butch Blazer was the first Native American to hold the position of State Forester of New Mexico.  During his tenure, Butch was also named as Chair of the Council of Western State Foresters and Co-Chair for the Western Forestry Leadership Coalition. He is the former owner of Blazer Conservation Connections, a natural resources based consulting company that specialized in connecting clients with the resources needed to enhance and protect the environment.  He was also a co-founder of the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society, and has served on their Board of Directors and as the organization's National President. A member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, Butch has been intimately involved in Tribal issues throughout his life.

Download the event flyer.

Upcoming scholarship opportunities

Calling all youth! Scholarship application season is upon us, and there are some exciting opportunities out there for Native American students. Details about the different application processes for these opportunities can be found at the links below. Good luck!

• Intertribal Agriculture Council's scholarship program supports students with a $1000 per semester scholarship! All Native students attending college full or part-time may apply, but preference for these awards is given to students focusing on agriculture or natural-resource related fields; full details are available at the link above.



• First Nations Development Institute offers the Native Agriculture and Food Systems (NAFSI) scholarships each year. These $1000 scholarships support Native students majoring in agricultural fields. Applications are due November 17th, so get those materials in soon!
 

• Intertribal Timber Council provides $2000-$2500 scholarships for graduating Native American high school seniors and current Native American college students who are focusing on Natural Resources in their studies. Applications are due January 16th.