With support from the Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) in 2023, the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana launched an ambitious Rice–Crawfish Pilot Project to rebuild agricultural capacity and reclaim Tribal lands for Native-led production. Spanning 200 acres, the pilot introduced a rotational system that pairs high-value hybrid rice with crawfish aquaculture, creating a strong foundation for a viable, tribally operated agricultural enterprise and advancing the Tribe’s long-term goals for food sovereignty and economic sustainability.
NAAF funding played a pivotal role in reshaping the Tribe’s Agriculture Department, which had previously focused on small-scale cattle and crawfish operations. With this support, the Tribe hired a Coushatta Tribal member as Director of Agriculture Operations, developed a multi-year rice and crawfish rotation plan, and began transitioning land away from non-Native leases. Within the first year alone, the department cultivated feeder crops across 200 acres of crawfish ponds and successfully planted, harvested, and sold the Tribe’s first-ever rice crop on an additional 200 acres.
These accomplishments came during historic drought conditions that made the 2023–2024 Louisiana crawfish season one of the most challenging on record. Despite these obstacles, the Tribe improved crawfish quality, generated revenue through market sales, and accessed new federal resources, including USDA’s Local Food Purchase Assistance program and drought loss coverage. The project also established critical market relationships with a crawfish dock and a bulk grain terminal, strengthening the Tribe’s ability to compete in an increasingly consolidated rice industry.
Through a new land reclamation strategy, the Coushatta Tribe is steadily transitioning agricultural lands back into Tribally led production, strengthening long-term control over its food and farming systems. Together, these efforts position the Tribe for continued growth, resilience, and success beyond NAAF’s funding.
Learn more about The Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana’s work here: https://www.coushatta.org/.
