-
Historic partnership forged to address Native food crisis
Shakopee Mdewakanton to be first tribe to fund national AmeriCorps VISTA project serving 10 Tribal nations; volunteers will help tribes improve food access and nutrition
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC) announced today its partnership with the Corporation for National and Community Service and the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) to create a cadre of “Native Food Sovereignty Fellows.” The 21 initial fellows will be AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers working in teams in 10 low-resource Native American communities to establish and stabilize food sovereignty efforts, food systems, and tribal economies that build economic opportunities around food and agriculture.
As an initiative of its Seeds of Native Health campaign to improve Native American nutrition and food access, the SMSC is providing a $200,000 gift to fund the cost-share for VISTA members’ living allowance in the first year of the program. This represents the first time in VISTA’s 52-year history in which a tribe is providing funding to deploy VISTA members nationally.