FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — With the assistance of a three-year grant from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, the University of Arkansas has teamed with the Intertribal Agriculture Council to establish the country’s only program designed to serve as an outlet for communication and support for American Indian women who own agriculturally based businesses.

Native Women in Agriculture (NWIA) was initiated by Janie Hipp, assistant professor and natural resources regulatory specialist and member of the Chickasaw tribe, and Jennie Pop, associate professor of agricultural economics. The organization was formed in 2004 and intended to focus on the risk management needs of American Indian women in agriculture.

“One of our major concerns has been the lack of availability of business-planning information, legal and business-risk information and estate-planning information for Native American tribes,” Hipp said. “The legal and business-risk issues that face tribal members are unique in many ways, one of which is in land ownership and control. 

“In many instances, land is either not capable of being passed on to family heirs or becomes so fractionated that it is difficult to determine ownership and management of the family’s land.  This leads to problems with access to credit and in keeping the family ties to agriculture and rural businesses strong,” she said.

 “Initially, you might not think there are many women involved in agriculture-based businesses,” Hipp added. “However, a study conducted in the state of Iowa shows that the percentage of women who own and operate farming and agriculture-based businesses is on the rise. In Iowa, for instance, almost 50 percent of all farm land and operations are owned solely by women. While we don’t know if that number is the same in tribal communities, we think it probably is or is even greater.” 

The first step toward establishing NWIA was the formation of a steering committee, which focused on the need to weave together concerns about agriculture production, food, nutrition, cultural heritage and land preservation that all tribal governments and individuals share. The committee first met in April 2004 and consisted of members of the Navajo, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Seminole Tribe of Florida and Cherokee Nations.

“While we are pleased to have established the steering committee and gotten off to such a good start, we will be expanding the committee as we attempt to include as many Native American tribal representatives as possible,” Hipp said. “To help, we have joined with the Intertribal Agriculture Council (IAC) and Winrock International to ensure that the efforts continue to improve.”

 Winrock International is a non-profit organization based in Little Rock that works with people around the world to increase economic opportunity, sustain natural resources and protect the environment.

“IAC is a proven leader on intertribal agriculture issues, and Winrock is involved with several Tribal governments in efforts to strengthen agricultural and environmental sustainability, cooperative market development, and alternative energy development,” she said.

The first project sponsored by NWIA was a Native Youth Writing Competition that focused on the subject: “The Role of Native Women in Agriculture: Past, Present and Future.” The competition was publicized and many American Indian youth (grades 9-12) entered from a broad cross-section of tribes. Five finalists were awarded an expense-paid trip to the Intertribal Agriculture Council’s fall 2004 meeting at the Seminole Hard Rock Resort in Hollywood, Fla.

Since the writing competition, the steering committee for NWIA has been represented at other intertribal meetings. Plans are under way for a second annual writing competition for fall 2005 and for additional intertribal meetings in 2005 in efforts to make deeper connections with American Indian women involved in agriculture and small business. 

“The federal grant expires in fall 2006,” Hipp said. “The goal for our organization during the next two years is to create a sound base for Native women in agriculture that can be built upon and developed after the funding runs out.”