The recent White House Tribal Summit provided the Agriculture Secretary opportunity to announce new resources for tribal economic development and USDA program participation. Rod Bain reports.
PARTICIPANTS: Rod Bain. President Joe Biden. Secretary Tom Vilsack.
Transcript
The recent White House Tribal Summit.
I'm proud to have reestablished the White House Council on Native American Affairs to improve tribal consultations.
You share with me that too many federal programs treat tribes like cities or counties rather than tribal nations.
At last year's summit, I sounded an executive order to recognize that you should be treated as tribal nations with respect to your decision-making power.
That executive order requires federal agencies to streamline grant applications, co-manage federal programs, to eliminate heavy-handed reporting requirements.
Hosted by President Joe Biden, included a series of announcements made by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack regarding various USDA programs and efforts in the Indian country.
First, an additional $20 million of Inflation Reduction Act resources that we're going to provide to tribes and Alaska Native corporations and villages.
And this is resources that is designed to provide assistance and help for those folks to basically access private markets.
Through U.S. Forest Service awards supporting Climate Smart Forest Management activities.
In addition, $25 million in Business Builder grants through USDA and the National Intertribal Food Business Center support Native small and mid-sized food and farm businesses.
On the conservation front.
NRCS, our conservation service, is also engaged in this effort.
There have been barriers to some participation by tribes in some of our infrastructure programs where there were requirements that tribes had eminent domain, power, and authority.
We are removing that barrier so that as a result, over 30 tribes that have been unable to participate in these programs will now, by virtue of this change, be able to participate.
Meanwhile, grant awards through the National Institute of Food and Agriculture assist tribal land grant colleges in advancing scientific research and remote learning.
This, through DIFA's Tribal College Research Grant Program.
The latest announcements are part of USDA's recent efforts to strengthen government-to-government relationships between the federal and tribal entities.
As an example.
We made a real commitment to co-stewardship agreements of a variety of different kinds.
Demonstration project agreements, good neighbor agreements, special MOUs like the one in the Black Hills National Forest with eight tribes of the Great Sioux Nation.
Things of that nature.
All told, over 250 stewardship agreements.
In addition to the agreements, there were resources committed to those agreements.
Of the 550 million dollars that we have invested in Indian Country in the last four years at USDA, 160 million of that was dedicated for those co-stewardship agreements.
I'm Rod Bain reporting for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.
