Tribal

In the middle of Nevada, miles from anywhere, eight Native American young adults spent their summer working to improve sagebrush habitat for the greater sage-grouse. Habitat for this ground-dwelling bird, native to much of the American West, has been dwindling in recent years, due to fencing...

As we look back at successes of 2011, this MOU signing is one that I will remember. This summer, USDA Rural Development New York State Director Jill Harvey and St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Chiefs, Ronald Lafrance Jr, Randy Hart, and Mark Garrow came together to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)...

They say nothing beats teamwork and that can certainly be said about a very forward-thinking and ambitious project being led by USDA-Rural Development in Alaska. USDA-RD Alaska State Director Jim Nordlund is leading the efforts to coordinate several federal agencies in organizing statewide...

South Dakota staff held a “kick-off” for Native American Heritage Month in early November with opening comments provided by State Director Meeks sharing a PowerPoint – 5 minutes 500 years – with statistical information gathered by the National Congress of American Indians, an Indian Taco meal, and...

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Profile America Facts, the first American Indian Day was celebrated back in May 1916. Red Fox James, a Blackfeet Indian, rode horseback from state to state, gathering endorsements from 24 state governments to have a day to honor American Indians. In 1990, then...

Whether it is youth midnight basketball tournaments or a writing class in the library, the Cheyenne River Youth Project (CRYP), in Eagle Butte, South Dakota is always bustling; serving the youth of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation and community. In the fall however, the CRYP is even busier with...

Earlier today I announced on behalf of Secretary Tom Vilsack that 19 tribal colleges in nine states have been awarded grants through the USDA Rural Development’s Tribal College Initiative Grant program, part of our Community Facilities program. Funding will be used to upgrade Tribal college...

I had the honor and pleasure to tour the Rosebud Sioux Nation in South Dakota. The vast land of the Sicangu Lakota Oyate is rich in natural resources. Tribal leaders, with support from Sinte Gleska University, demonstrated interest and commitment in further planning and development of these...

In what was some of the most beautiful weather Southwest Alaska had seen recently, USDA Administrator Jonathan Adelstein joined the USDA- Rural Development Alaska team to tour several rural communities including Manokotak, New Stuyahok, Kasigluk and Kwigillingok and Pitkas Point. The site tours were...

As part of the Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station’s Recovery Act program, the Station’s Focused Science Delivery Program has entered into an agreement with the University of Washington’s School of Forest Resources to create leadership and learning opportunities for Native Americans...