20 April 2023

Case Study: Native American Agriculture Fund (NAAF)

Written by Tanya Massy

Location: USA

Investment type: Philanthropic

NAAF provides grants to selected organisations for business assistance, agricultural education, technical support, and advocacy services to support Native farmers and ranchers.

The fund is the largest philanthropic organisation in the USA devoted solely to serving the Native American farming and ranching community. It was created out of the settlement of the Keepseagle vs. Vilsack class-action lawsuit over systematic discrimination by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) against American Indian ranchers and farmers. The settlement decision by the Supreme Court in 2018 resulted in the creation of the NAAF with $266 million, along with programmatic reform at the USDA.

Since its inception, the fund has delivered four grant rounds and launched a range of other initiatives, delivering $55 million to Tribes, non-profits and educational organisations, and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). Its focus is driven by the recognition that, ‘The Native American food and agriculture sector is the single most under-appreciated resource for sustainable, rural and regional economic development in our Nation’ (NAAF 2021).

In 2022, the fund awarded $22 million in grants across 49 projects spanning activities from communal land acquisition, beginner farmer and rancher support, food and farm infrastructure development, capital and financial deployment through CDFIs and youth programming.

An important strand of their work with youth is funding a range of scholarship programs. These programs support young ones from across their communities to complete tertiary and postgraduate degrees related to agriculture through their Tribal Agriculture Fellowship.

NAAF has also partnered with The Cooperative Development Foundation to create a curriculum and training to empower Tribes and individual members to start cooperatives or improve existing cooperatives in Indian Country, with the ultimate aim of enhancing Native American food economies through cooperatives.

The fund is one of the first Indigenous organisations to join the U.S. Nature4Climate coalition of conservation, environmental, and sustainable businesses and organisations collaborating on Natural Climate Solutions. NAAF is also playing an active advocacy role at state and federal government levels, to give community voice and input on critical health, economic development, food security and sovereignty, and agricultural issues.

“The solutions to developing thriving food systems that sustain our tribal communities come from within Indian Country.”

— Toni Stanger-McLaughlin CEO | Native American Agricultural Fund | Cited in NAAF (2022)

https://nativeamericanagriculturefund.org

This case study is an extract from Regenerating Investment in Food and Farming: A Roadmap.