Madison Reporter

University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers and a group of Tribal partners are launching a new project to support Native American food traditions and food sovereignty for Great Lakes Tribal Nations.

The project will focus on expanding traditional Tribal food production practices—practices that have been climate-smart and sustainable for generations—by building on ongoing work to scale up production, processing, storage, and distribution systems. It also aims to enhance the education and extension programs needed to support integrated crop-livestock systems, cover crops, and rotationally grazed cattle and pastured chickens.

“We’re taking a broad transdisciplinary, partnership-based approach to supporting the expansion of intertribal food systems. It’s a participatory process, guided by the needs and priorities of the Tribes that are involved, and utilizing the expertise of Tribal scientists and other Tribal partners,” says project leader Erin Silva, professor and extension specialist in the UW–Madison Department of Plant Pathology, director of the Center for Integrated Agricultural Systems and Clif Bar Endowed Chair in Organic Agriculture and Outreach.

The new project is supported through a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. More specifically, the funding was awarded through the Sustainable Agricultural Systems program area of NIFA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, the nation’s leading competitive grants program for agricultural sciences.

Key collaborators on the project include the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Tribal Conservation Advisory Council.

“We’ve had several opportunities now to work with the University of Wisconsin on projects to support increased production and distribution considerations of our culturally-important foods in ways that align with our community’s values and priorities,” says Gary Besaw, an enrolled member of the Menominee Tribe and director of the Tribe’s Department of Agriculture and Food Systems. “The fact that the Tribal nations in Wisconsin have a world-renowned partner that’s committed to assisting us—based on our prerequisites—in sustainably growing this historic food sovereignty movement is incredibly important to us.”

One focus will be partnering with the Great Lakes Intertribal Food Coalition to help support its Tribal Elder Food Box Program by expanding it into new areas. The program was launched in 2021 during COVID-19 to increase access to nutritious, culturally important foods for Tribal elders. In 2023 alone, 30,000 boxes—with around 60% contents from various Tribal producers—were distributed.

UW–Madison aims to build on this success by exploring ways to expand intertribal food systems further. This includes working with Tribal farms to support traditional foods' production while assessing options for distributing these foods into schools and casinos across Wisconsin.

“Scalability is a huge piece of this project. How do we expand production in a way that is honoring, respecting, influenced by historic traditional practices?” says Dan Cornelius, an enrolled member of Oneida Nation who serves as an outreach program manager with UW Law School's Great Lakes Indigenous Law Center. “On cropping systems side things we’ll need look at what technology appropriate techniques important how do things promote soil health.”

Another major focus will be training future leaders within food systems. The grant includes funding for training UW–Madison graduate students while engaging Native students across campus. There is also financial support for ramping up an existing agricultural apprenticeship program run by WTCAC.

“The Tribes sometimes struggle getting seasonal workers harvest when they’re needed,” says Jeff Mears enrolled member Oneida Nation executive director WTCAC “Our apprenticeship program provides seed money hire people train them Apprentices don’t have young people They can looking make career change phase life This opportunity change lives well way help grow”

Other activities include developing map existing assets Indigenous researching methods used evaluating impacts soil health carbon sequestration plus ramping nutrition education members emphasizing concept medicine healthy important well-being

“Despite centuries historical oppression diet-related health disparities grant build foundation reclaiming pathways improving Building upon collective synergy component reaffirms connection high-quality nourishment well-being both Medicaid lens” Carolee Dodge Francis enrolled chair Civil Society Community Studies Leola R Culver Professor Nonprofits Philanthropy

UW-Madison one seven selected share $70 million USDA NIFA funding potential transform U.S sustainably increasing reducing environmental footprint

“These research investments exciting integrate innovative thinking methods technologies establish robust resilient climate-smart systems said Director Manjit Misra announcement visionary improve local regional supply affordable safe nutritious accessible fostering economic development rural prosperity America”

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