Profiles In Innovation
Tribal communities and urban centers are paving the way for groundbreaking work utilizing traditional foods and farming methods. Learn about their work and find opportunities to connect.
The Alaska Tribal Conservation Alliance (ATCA) was established as a non-profit in 2011 to provide outreach, education, training, and technical assistance to Alaska Tribal Conservation Districts (TCDs) in order to preserve and enhance natural resources and a traditional subsistence way of life.
The American Indian Cancer Foundation (AICAF), established in 2010, seeks to address cancer inequities faced by American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities through community centered research and collaboration with tribes to develop their own assessments and health policies.
The Blackfeet Nation Agriculture Resource Management Plan team formed in November 2014, when the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council authorized the Tribe to move forward with developing and implementing an Agricultural Resource Management Plan. Through this plan, which was finalized in 2019, the Blackfeet Nation will incorporate traditional Amskapi Piikanivalues into agricultural management and plans, with the long-term goals of maximizing the Tribe’s “triple bottom line”: 1) promoting economic development through private sector investments, 2) reducing Blackfeet health disparities through access to local and traditional foods, and 3) investing in youth.
The Diné Community Advocacy Alliance (DCAA), is a grassroots advocacy organization formed in March 2012 by various communities in the Navajo Nation dedicated to raising awareness and combating the dangers of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic health issues throughout the community.
Dream of Wild Health (DWH) is one of the longest continually operating Native nonprofits in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, seeking to recover and preserve the traditional relationship between Native people and traditional plants.
Feed 7 Generations, or FEED, works to revitalize the health and wellness of tribal communities by amplifying the voices of Native peoples, reconnecting to ancestral community health practices, and elevating land management strategies.
I-Collective is a group of 18 Indigenous chefs, activists, herbalists, and seed and knowledge keepers that work collaboratively to increase visibility of diverse Indigenous foods and culture through education.
“Indigenous, Inspired, Innovative, and Independent”
The Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN), established in 1990, seeks to address environmental and economic justice issues by building capacity of tribal communities and governments to protect sacred sites, natural resources, and related health outcomes with economically sustainable practices.
The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative, founded in 2013 at the University of Arkansas, focuses on putting tribal sovereignty in food sovereignty by offering practical legal research, policy analysis, and educational resources on food and agricultural issues to Tribal Nations, Native producers, and Tribal food businesses around the country.
IAC was founded in 1987 to focus on the conservation and development of land-based tribal agricultural resources for the social and economic benefit of tribes and tribal producers. Located in Billings, Montana with offices in Eagle Butte, South Dakota, IAC serves Native producers nationwide on agricultural issues, providing direct technical assistance to tribes and tribal producers.