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Indigenous peoples believe that farms and traditional foods are part of an extended family with shared ancestry and origins, deserving of the respect that one would afford to relatives. Accordingly, indigenous agricultural practices go beyond many climate-smart practices, drawing on agroecological farming techniques that not only minimize environmental damage but actively foster reciprocal human and environmental well-being.

Many of these practices also serve as the basis for sustainable and climate smart agriculture: they sequester carbon, promote nutrient cycling, and foster biodiversity. Indeed, these indigenous agricultural practices built the fertile soils that fuel the U.S. agricultural economy today.

Tribal nations across the US are working towards revitalizing their indigenous foodways which were disrupted by the colonization of the North American continent, leading to the loss of resilient, climate-smart food systems that provided nutritious and culturally important foods to indigenous communities. Today, indigenous communities across the U.S. are rebuilding food sovereignty with traditional climate-smart agricultural practices and reclaiming food systems that restore community and economic health.

These efforts provide a critical opportunity to build local and regional food supply chains, support economic development, and transform food systems so that they are more equitable, sustainable, and resilient to crises like COVID-19 and climate change.

In the Great Lakes region, the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition (GLIFC), is working toward their vision of a vibrant food system that will provide nutritious and culturally appropriate foods for people that need it and to support the economic development of indigenous and local food producers. The University of Wisconsin-Madison, GLIFC, the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council (WTCAC), and the Menominee Nation will partner on a transdisciplinary project in support of that vision, with the long-term goal of scaling climate-smart indigenous food production and regional food supply chains that foster nutrition, health, and food security and sovereignty in indigenous communities.

The primary rationale and goal of this project is to scale up modern-day iterations of climate smart indigenous food systems in ways that align with cultural values, restore community health and well-being, and foster economic development. Our vision focuses on intertribal, indigenous food systems that include climate-smart and culturally important production systems, the network of local/regional food supply chains or trade-routes that distribute the food that is grown from these systems, and the ways in which this impacts the health and economic welfare of the communities who grow, distribute, and eat those foods.

More specifically, we will expand production, processing, storage, and distribution systems, as well as education and extension programs, needed to support integrated crop-livestock systems that include indigenous varieties of maize, beans, and squash; cover crops; and rotationally-grazed cattle and pastured chickens.

This project also addresses a key need for extension and education, providing the logistics support and professional development needed to support and expand the base of indigenous producers and food system professionals. Using a transdisciplinary and participatory action approach, we will provide planning and technical support for scaling food supply chains, and workforce training and mentoring for supply chain partners, meat processors, farmers, and nutrition professionals. Additionally, we will bring together experts and educators at the UW-Madison and across tribal communities to inspire and educate youth to learn about indigenous agriculture and to pursue advanced agricultural degrees by integrating the education experiences into the research activities.

University Of Wisconsin System

NOT APPLICABLE

10.310 - Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI)

Institute of Bioenergy, Climate, and Environment (IBCE) [USDA - NIFA]

Madison, Wisconsin 53715-1218 United States

Single Zip Code

Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Sustainable Agricultural Systems (USDA-NIFA-AFRI-009802)