Today we celebrate the 10th Annual Native Youth in Food and Agriculture Leadership Summit Cohort

The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative at the U of A School of Law recently welcomed its 10th class of Native Youth in Food and Agriculture Leadership Summit participants to the U of A campus. Nearly 40 Native youth traveled from across the United States for the opportunity to participate in professional and educational development and learn firsthand about Tribal food and agriculture.

The Youth Summit allows participants to dive deeper into their interests and develop real solutions, highlighted by a final project. IFAI invites alumni, friends, family, guardians, supporters and more to attend this year’s presentations and celebration virtually, beginning at 8:45 a.m. CST on Monday, July 22. Sign up here for a reminder email and link access: bit.ly/10YRLVSTRM.

Investing in the next generation

IFAI launched the Native Youth in Food and Agriculture Leadership Summit 10 years ago to invest in the next generation of Indian Country food and agriculture leaders. Over the past decade, the program has helped equip more than 500 young participants with the skills and experience needed to succeed.

“Without the generosity of our partners and supporters, including the Intertribal Agriculture Council, Native American Agriculture Fund, Newman’s Own Foundation, the Farm Credit System, and USDA-NIFA, we would not be able to host such a robust and wonderful event each year,” said Summer Rae Wilkie (Cherokee Nation), IFAI’s next generation manager.

Topics of agricultural policy and production to be discussed at the Youth Summit include farm management and finance, land management and conservation, agricultural legislation and policy, nutrition and health, and recently animal sciences.

“The five different pathways offer young people the opportunity to gain further knowledge and experience within the vibrant and diverse areas of tribal food and agriculture,” said Wilkie.

Tours of Quapaw Nation

A highlight of the week was tours of the Quapaw Nation’s food and agriculture operations. Participants learned how the tribe saves seeds and plants, conducts conservation efforts, supports pollinator habitats, and helps feed the community through its garden. After garden tours, the youth enjoyed a lunch served at the Quapaw Nation’s Farmers Market & Food Hub. Before the tour day concluded at Quapaw Nation’s O-Gah-Pah Coffee, the tribe’s environmental scientist, Summer King, led an insightful tour of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Tar Creek Superfund site.

“The Quapaw Nation’s remediation work with the Tar Creek Superfund site is a great example of how Indigenous peoples are investing in their lands and their people,” Wilkie said. “Environmental degradation is a threat to their security, but the Quapaw Nation uses agriculture as part of the process to restore land. We are grateful to the Quapaw Nation for hosting us and for their time and investment in our participants through the insightful tours of their innovative food sovereignty initiatives, as well as their conservation and land remediation successes.”

Farmers Market

On Saturday, July 20, participants purchased local ingredients at the Fayetteville Farmers Market to prepare a meal on Sunday, July 21, alongside esteemed Native chefs and activists Mackee Bancroft and Denisa Livingston. While in the kitchen, the chefs emphasized the importance of gratitude for traditional foods and encouraged a positive experience when preparing and enjoying food.

At the Indigenous Foods Banquet held later that day, participants enjoyed dishes that incorporated traditional, local, and tribally produced ingredients.

“Thanks to the Newsman’s Own Foundation, all participants will receive a box of traditional and indigenous-sourced ingredients sent home so they can take some of the knowledge they gained from their day in the kitchen with Chefs Mackee and Denisa back home to prepare meals,” said Wilkie.

Janie Simms Hipp, co-founder of IFAI, will be the keynote speaker at the celebration and graduation ceremony on July 22, marking the culmination of this year’s Youth Summit.

“The young people participating through this program have inspiring and thoughtful final projects and we look forward to sharing this year’s young people’s presentations with friends, supporters, family and community members across the country via our livestream,” said Wilkie.

Join the livestream beginning at 8:45 a.m. on Monday, July 22 to capture the capstone presentations and graduation ceremony. Sign up here for a reminder email and link access:bit.ly/10YRLVSTRM.

For more information about the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative’s youth programming, visitnativefoodandag.com/youthprograms.