Empowering Agriculture Through Tribal Sovereignty

The Empowering Agriculture through Tribal Sovereignty (EATS) Academy is an ecosystem of trainings and resources developed by the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative to support Tribal governments and producers develop robust food systems throughout Indian Country.

Educational resources are available for varied goals and areas of expertise:

  • Native Youth Agriculture Leaders
  • Beginning Famers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Agriculture Entreprenuers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Support for the EATS Academy has been generously provided by the Walmart Foundation.

How to Get Started

This centralized resource ecosystem is intended to bridge gaps in information available to Tribal governments and producers. This is in no way complete, but it is a foundation for Tribal stakeholders to start their work in Tribal food sovereignty efforts.

Your feedback is important – we want to hear from you! What educational resources are missing? Contact our Associate Director, Carly Hotvedt at hotvedt@uark.edu.

Start below by identifying which category best fits your role, interests, goals, or areas of expertise.

Native Youth Programs in the 2018 Farm Bill

  • Native Youth
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Beginning Farmers and Rancher Programs in the 2018 Farm Bill

  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Developing a Tribal Department of Agriculture: 

Resource Banking for Informed Goal Setting
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Starting or Scaling Up Tribal Agriculture Operations

Resource Banking for Informed Goal Setting
  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers

Evaluating Food Regulatory Oversight and Industry Standards

Resource Banking for Informed Compliance Measures
  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers

Local Agricultural Marketing Program (LAMP)

  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Developing Agricultural Efficiences in Scaling Up

  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts

Farm to School Guided Worksheet

  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers

Financing Agriculture Operations: FSA Credit Access

  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts

USDA Conservation Programs

  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Success Stories

Departments of Agriculture
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Example Organizational Charts

Departments of Agriculture
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Marketing Native-Produced Food Products

Available Marketing Programs
  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers

How Tribal Departments of Agriculture Benefit Beginning Farmers and Ranchers

  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Native Youth Internship Opportunities

  • Native Youth

Structuring a Tribal Department of Agriculture Mind Map

  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Business Structure Decision Tree

  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Tribal Department of Agriculture Support for Scaling Value Added Operators

  • Individual Producers/Value Added Operators
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Identifying Business Structures for Tribal Citizens

  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

How Tribal Departments of Agriculture Benefit Native Producers

  • Individual Producers/Ag Entreprenuers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts
  • Tribal Leaders

Integrating Food Safety in Scaling Farm Enterprises

  • Beginning Farmers and Ranchers
  • Individual Producers
  • Tribal Agriculture, Nutrition, or Natural Resources Program Staff/Subject Matter Experts

Credit Access and Financing Your Agriculture Operations

Navigating Food Safety Supply Chains

Food Safety Traceability

Building a Tribal Department of Agriculture

Cultivating Tribal Food Sovereignty

638 Opportunities For Tribal Food and Agriculture

What is the EATS Academy?

The EATS Academy is a program, policy, training, and resources academy ecosystem aimed at empowering local Tribal food production through Tribally driven methods to support Tribal governments and Tribal producers build robust food systems and increase economic development in Indian Country. It is in no way a complete resource bank, and new information will become available.