Save the Date! Native Youth in Agriculture Summer Leadership Summit is back!

We're back for a second year! Join us for the Native Youth in Agriculture Summer Leadership Summit 2.0-- and become a part of the next generation of food and agriculture leaders throughout Indian Country! Selected students will travel to Fayetteville, Arkansas to participate in an educational leadership summit designed to provide comprehensive training in the legal and business complexities unique to Indian Country land and agriculture. 

Students will engage in classroom and leadership learning, participate in cultural activities, and receive specialized legal, land use, and financial education appropriate only to Native farmers and ranchers. 

This Summit is possible thanks to the generous support of the Farm Credit Council and the Intertribal Agriculture Council. 

Watch this space-- or join us on Facebook-- for more details and applications! 

Date

Monday, July 19th – Friday, July 28th (including travel days)

Hosts & Sponsors

Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the University of Arkansas School of Law

Intertribal Agriculture Council

Farm Credit Council

 

New Endowment Supports Diversity at School of Law

The newly-created Gearhart Family Endowed Diversity Support Initiative recently provided a significant gift to the University of Arkansas School of Law to support its efforts towards diversity in the legal profession.  The Gearhart Family Endowed Diversity Support Initiative was created by alumnus and Walmart executive Jeff Gearhart and his wife Lisa. The Initiative will support internships, student travel, and expanded diversity education as well as other programs. It complements existing diversity initiatives at the School of Law such as LSAC’s DiscoverLaw.org PLUS Program, and the Native Youth Leadership Summit.

Read the press release for more details.

President Obama's Call to Action to Support Native Youth

In his closing remarks at this year's White House Tribal Nations Conference on December 3rd, President Obama discussed how moved he and the First Lady were by their informal listening session with Lakota youths earlier this year:

And Michelle and I were honored that these young people opened up to us. But more importantly, we were moved because they were like Malia and Sasha -- just as smart, just as hopeful, just as beautiful. But at their core, there was a nagging doubt that they would have the opportunities that my daughters had. And nothing gets me more frustrated than when I hear that. Nothing gets me angrier than when I get a sense that our young people early in life are already feeling like opportunities are foreclosed to them -- because that's not who we are. 

[...] 

So when Michelle and I got back to the White House after our visit to Standing Rock, I told my staff -- I brought Sally in, and I brought Arne Duncan in, and I brought whoever else was involved in youth and education and opportunity and job training, and I said, you will find new avenues of opportunity for our Native youth. You will make sure that this happens on my watch.

President Obama went on to address the steps his administration is taking. First was the release of the 2014 Native Youth Report (PDF). Second is the launch of the Generation Indigenous initiative, which includes:

• New Native Youth Community Projects, administered by the Department of Education (ED) to provide funding in a select number of Native communities to support culturally relevant coordinated strategies designed to improve the college-and-career readiness of Native children and youth.
• New National Tribal Youth Network program in partnership with the Aspen Institute’s Center for Native American Youth. The Youth Network will support leadership development, provide peer support through an interactive online portal that links resources and tools, and empowers youth to become leaders within their communities. 
• The White House, in cooperation with the Aspen Institute, will also host a high-level convening on challenges facing Native youth in February 2015.
• The launch of the Cabinet Native Youth Listening Tour, which will begin next year as part of the President’s call to hear directly from Native youth on how to bolster federal policies to improve youth outcomes. In addition, the Administration will expand federal outreach on youth internships and employment opportunities across the federal agencies.
• The first ever White House Tribal Youth Gathering to engage hundreds of Native youth in a day-long conference in the summer of 2015.  

You can watch the President's speech here:

Related Links:

• White House Fact Sheet on the Tribal Nations Conference (PDF)

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.