Putting Tribal SovereigntyPolicy Brief Summary The House remains without a speaker. Notes from a Senate Banking Committee Congressional Hearing feature testimony from two...
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University of Arkansas Establishes Native American Student Services Director through Grant-Funded Initiative
The University of Arkansas and the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) proudly announce the newly-created Native American Student Services Director position on the UofA campus. This position, funded through a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Tribal...
Policy Brief – October 17, 2023
Policy Brief Summary: The House of Representatives remains without a speaker, but Senate Banking holds a subcommittee hearing on CDFIs, specifically hosting a representative from Native CDFI Oweesta as a witness to these organizations’ roles in community development...
Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Awarded Cooperative Agreement to Develop FDPIR Produce Training
The Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative (IFAI) at the University of Arkansas School of Law recently entered into a cooperative agreement with U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food and Nutrition Service (USDA-FNS). This $500,000 award will support the...
Policy Brief – October 10, 2023
Policy Brief Summary: October 13 is the final day for Tribes and ITOs to submit comment to USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s proposed parity rules impacting FDPIR and CSFP. Check out the IFAI resources and draft letter for those ITOs and Tribes interested here. The...
Policy Brief – October 3, 2023
Policy Brief Summary: A government shutdown was temporarily averted with Congress signing a 45 day continuing resolution. While there are no meetings related to Tribal food and agriculture scheduled this week, last week, there were hearings on farmland management and...
Policy Brief – September 26, 2023
Policy Brief Summary: Facing a government shutdown if Congress reaches no agreement by the end of September, the Office of Management and Budget instructed all agencies to update their shutdown contingency plans. A report by Government Executive shows that in the...
Upcoming Webinar
The Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) is proposing changes to Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and the Food Distribution Program (FDPIR) on Indian Reservation regulations. USDA’s goal for these changes is to increase program access and parity. The legal and...
Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative Featured In the News – Tribal Business News
Tribal Business News recently featured the Indigenous Food and Agriculture Initiative's Director of Policy, Research, and Tribal Governance, Kristiana Coutu, about Indian Country food and agriculture as well as how new, proposed changes from the USDA could affect...
Policy Brief – September 19, 2023
IFAI Policy Brief September 19, 2023 Policy Brief Summary: Over the weekend, the House GOP dropped a potential continuing resolution to fund the government for another 30 days, while Congressional hearings on other issues continue. Two upcoming hearings...