As the largest philanthropic organization devoted solely to serving the Native American farming and ranching community, the Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) commits more than $100 million over the next 12 years to advance Native American agriculture and establish healthy lands, healthy people, and healthy economies. NAAF’s vision for this 12-year commitment is to achieve systemic and meaningful impacts to address food and nutrition disparities in Tribal communities. That is why NAAF is committing to strive for $10 million in grantmaking each year through the year 2035 to build and sustain thriving food economies that feed and nourish Indigenous people for generations to come. The eligible entities that receive NAAF grants are leading in work that increases access to capital and alleviates food insecurity in order to meet the needs of Indian Country and build equitable food systems for all.  

Since its inception, NAAF has invested $55 million in grantmaking to provide business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, and advocacy services to Tribes, non-profit organizations, educational organizations, and Community Development Financial Institutions. Our goal at NAAF is to create sustainable agricultural infrastructure to allow Tribal communities the opportunity for food security and economic development toward a collective goal of empowering tribes and their citizens. 

“Tribal governments and Native producers are reclaiming and revitalizing our food systems.   When our food systems are more sustainable and secure, our communities are healthier–and our tribal economies benefit as well.  NAAF is committed to providing access to capital so that Native producers can enhance their efforts in providing food that nourishes our people,” says Dr. Joe Hiller (Oglala Lakota), Chairman of the NAAF Board of Trustees.  

Earlier this year, the Native American Agriculture Fund and the Native Farm Bill Coalition submitted a report focused on the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health, providing substantive policy recommendations that can be accomplished through federal agency action and legislative change in food access, nutrition, and health equity as it relates to the five pillars of the White House Conference:  

• • • • Improving Food Access and Affordability for Tribal Communities: Improve credit access so Native producers can grow, raise, and market food products closer to home and expand self-determination opportunities. 
      • Integrating Indigenous-Led Nutrition Programming to Improve Native Health: Partner with Tribes through cooperative agreements to launch more Native-led nutrition education programming through Indian Country. Tribes are better situated to provide culturally appropriate nutrition education programming to their citizens; however, without access to funding, Tribes are limited in doing so. 
      • Empowering Tribal Consumers to Have Access to Healthy Choices: Establish Tribal authority to administer federal food and nutrition assistance programs. This will improve efficiency, reduce regulatory burdens, and support Tribal self-governance and self-determination. It also allows Tribes to tailor these programs to the specific needs of their communities at the local level. 
      • Supporting Physical Activity for All: Supporting Native agriculture, especially beginning farmers and ranchers. Restoring connections between Native youth and food systems, when done in an Indigenous-led framework, provides opportunities for healthy movement, reconnects Native youth with culture and language around Native foodways, and improves food access for everyone in a Tribal community 
      • Enhancing Nutrition and Food Security Research: Include Native representation on the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and disaggregate federal datasets so that Native people are no longer invisible. 

About the Native American Agriculture Fund:

The Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF) provides grants to eligible organizations for business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, and advocacy services to support Native farmers and ranchers. The charitable trust was created by the settlement of the landmark Keepseagle v. Vilsack class-action lawsuit. NAAF is the largest philanthropic organization devoted solely to serving the Native American farming and ranching community.