Location: Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory
Project Number: 3064-21600-001-021-I
Project Type: Interagency Reimbursable Agreement
Start Date: Sep 23, 2022
End Date: Sep 30, 2024
Objective:
Develop best practices for working collaboratively with 1994 Tribal Colleges and Universities and Tribes on propagating tribal traditional seeds and plants and developing Native food systems.
Approach:
Increasing the abundance of traditionally important plants for Native American communities of important to the Office of Tribal Relations (OSEC), USDA-ARS and 1994 Tribal Colleges and Universities. However, plant material for tradition crops and native plants with edible and medicinal uses are becoming less abundant. The Office of Tribal Relations will provide funding to ARS to collaborate with 1994 Tribal Colleges and University in North Dakota to work on increasing seed from both crop plants and culturally significant native plants. Nueta Hidatsa Sahnish College (NHSC) will provide crop seeds from traditional crop varieties and ARS will provide space and facilities for conducting these seed increases. ARS will also provide NHSC with information on conducting germination tests for crop varieties that are held by families in the community. United Tribes Technical College will use traditional expert knowledge and survey techniques to develop and prioritize a list of native prairie plants that have edible and medicinal uses and ARS will provide greenhouse facilities for propagating plants if needed. Deliverables from this agreement will include a Best Practices/Summary on developing collaborations between ARS and 1994 Tribal Colleges and Universities and a feasibility study for future research on propagating culturally significant native plant species.
