WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2024 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announces a first-ever regional cadre of USDA Tribal College Liaisons. Three new liaisons serve regions where Tribal colleges are located (Central Plains, Southwest, and Rocky Mountain regions). The liaisons share information on USDA programs and services with Tribal college students, Tribal Nations, Native American farmers, and local communities. In addition, applications are now open for Summer 2025 USDA Tribal Food and Agriculture Policy Internships. These are the latest USDA actions to empower Tribal self-determination, promote equity and remove barriers to services and programs. Both programs are managed by USDA’s Office of Tribal Relations Tribal College Program.
“This is an unprecedented investment in USDA’s relationship with Tribal colleges and universities as well as empowering the next generation of Tribal policy experts,” said USDA Office of Tribal Relations Acting Director Betsy Rakola. “USDA is also honored to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Tribal colleges joining the land-grant college network, improving the lives of Native American students and communities through higher education, and funding culturally relevant research and education projects.”
The new Tribal College Liaisons are:
- Kellen Palmer, Tribal Liaison, Central Plains region serving Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas; Little Priest Tribal College in Winnebago, Nebraska; Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy, Nebraska; College of the Muscogee Nation in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
- Raymond Benally, Tribal Liaison, Southwest region serving Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona; Tohono O’odham Community College in Sells, Arizona; Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico; Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Navajo Technical University in Crownpoint, New Mexico.
- Ryhal Rowland, Tribal Liaison, Rocky Mountain region serving Aaniih Nakoda College in Harlem, Montana; Blackfeet Community College in Browning, Montana; Chief Dull Knife College in Lame Deer, Montana; Fort Peck Community College in Poplar, Montana; Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency, Montana; Salish Kootenai College in Pablo, Montana; and Stone Child College in Box Elder, Montana.
As local representatives of USDA, Tribal College Liaisons work with Tribes to increase economic development opportunities, workforce development, and Tribal and national food security. Among their duties, they work with faculty and staff at Tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) to identify their priorities and connect them with USDA resources and services. They also advise the broader community, including Tribal Nations, communities, and Native American farmers, ranchers, and others on USDA resources and services. Liaisons also recruit students for the USDA Tribal Scholars Program and other USDA internship programs to help build the pipeline of Native American talent at USDA and the agricultural sector.
This year marks the 30th anniversary since Tribal colleges joined the land-grant college network through the Equity in Educational Land-Grant Status Act of 1994. This Act authorized Tribal colleges and universities to receive federal support and train future agricultural professionals. There are 36 federally recognized Tribal colleges and universities – owned and operated by Tribal Nations – that are designated as land-grant institutions. Collectively, they enroll more than 15,000 students and provide vital services to more than 120,000 Tribal community members annually. These institutions provide high-school completion, job training, college preparatory courses, and adult basic education programs. They serve as community libraries and centers, Tribal archives, career and business centers, economic development centers, public meeting places, and elder and childcare centers. Tribal colleges offer the distinctive land-grant mix of research, education and extension, while framing that education in the context of Native American history, Indigenous knowledge and traditions, and Tribal self-determination. Last year the Department announced a renewed partnership with Tribal colleges and universities.
USDA continues to hire new Tribal College Liaisons. A Great Lakes Tribal College Liaison position is currently open at USAjobs.gov until Thursday, Oct. 17. This position serves Tribal colleges in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Learn more about this opportunity and the USDA Tribal College Liaisons at the Office of Tribal Relations Tribal College Program website.
USDA also announced that applications are now open for the Summer 2025 Tribal Food and Agriculture Policy Internships. First launched in 2024, this historic program welcomes interns to learn about Tribal agriculture and Tribal food sovereignty. Through the Future Leaders in Public Service Internship Program, undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students will work on USDA agriculture, food, and nutrition programs that benefit Indian Country. Sponsored by USDA’s Office of Tribal Relations, the program seeks to develop a new generation of agricultural professionals with a better understanding of Tribal food and agriculture issues. An Oct. 24 information session will precede the application deadline of Nov. 22, 2024. Learn more about the Tribal Food and Agriculture Policy Internships.
USDA touches the lives of all Americans each day in so many positive ways. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, USDA is transforming America’s food system with a greater focus on more resilient local and regional food production, promoting competition and fairer markets for all producers, ensuring access to safe, healthy and nutritious food in all communities, building new markets and streams of income for farmers and producers using climate-smart food and forestry practices, making historic investments in infrastructure and clean energy capabilities in rural America, and committing to equity across the Department by removing systemic barriers and building a workforce more representative of America. To learn more, visit www.usda.gov.
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