Results and Impacts for
the
Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension Program
The following represents results and impacts for the
Federally-Recognized Tribes Extension Program
from activities that
occurred between April 2003 and March 2005.
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians has its own separate
Wildlife and Parks Department. Each Choctaw community's hunting
lands and community ponds are managed by this department,
but the department did not have the tools or the experience
to manage for wildlife or fisheries habitat enhancement.
Although they included requests for equipment in their budget,
they never received the necessary tools. The Choctaw Extension
Indian Reservation Program provided department staff with
the education they needed in the areas of wildlife and fisheries
management. Recent budgets for the Wildlife Department are
different from previous years. The department received funding
for a new tractor, clipper, disk, and two community pond
renovations, attributing this change in outcome to the increased
technical quality and the overall presentation of needs to
be addressed. Along with the two pond renovations for better
fish habitat, the wildlife department will be able to plant
food plots in all Choctaw communities and expand on existing
plots.
Montana State University
An important issue of the Fort Belknap tribes is the need
to train interested youth who are enrolled tribal members
to become ranchers. The goal is to utilize the land and grazing
resources of the Reservation while improving the economic
stability of individual families. To address this issue,
the Fort Belknap Extension Indian Reservation Program agent
has partnered with the Montana Department of Agriculture
to provide livestock loans to qualified youth 9-21 years
of age residing on the Fort Belknap Reservation. These youngsters
have been trained to develop livestock plans, including financial
statements, income and expense records, lease agreements,
and cattle projections. In the past 10 years, more than 60
youngsters have partnered with their parents. They have purchased
over 600 head of bred cows to initiate small livestock herds
of their own. This represents approximately $450,000 in livestock
loans. Annual payments are being made, and more than 70%
of these youngsters will become future ranchers of Fort Belknap.
One of the goals of the Fort Peck tribes is to establish
extension education programs to develop life skills in youth.
The Fort Peck Extension Indian Reservation Program is addressing
this need by developing 4-H and other youth programs that
are designed to strengthen leadership and citizenship skills
among tribal youth. The White Wolf Song and Dance 4-H Club
has more than 45 members, but as many as 45 additional local
youth participate in weekly meetings. Twenty-five parent
volunteers, at varied times, meet weekly with the youth throughout
the year. The Club performs for many groups and at local
and statewide events, including the Poplar Community Christmas
Pow Wow, the Faith Lutheran Retirement Home, the Montana
State 4-H Recreation Lab, and the Montana State University – Billings
campus Pow Wow. The club was selected as a presenter for
the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial “Corps of Discovery
II: 200 Years to the Future” traveling exhibit at selected
sites in Montana. Based on feedback from parents and volunteers
and through the extension agent's observations, 90 youth
have gained self-esteem, leadership skills, citizenship skills,
and other life skills through their involvement in native
cultural events, native language training, 4-H officer and
membership training, and by participating in club activities
and educational learning experiences.
The Northern Cheyenne Reservation supports 45 commercial
cow-calf ranches that manage 8,500 producing cows. These
ranches produce approximately 7,000 feeder calves each year
with a gross value exceeding $4 million. Reproductive efficiency,
or breed back, is a critical factor in ranching success.
Reproductive diseases greatly affect ranch profitability.
Trichimonas foetus (Trich.) is a persistent reproductive
disease that causes early-term abortions and leads to extremely
high rates (25% to 45%) of non-pregnant cows. The Northern
Cheyenne Reservation was widely infected with this organism
and faced devastating reproductive losses. Trich. reaches
maximum infection levels in three to five years. This is
ample time for the disease to be spread into a neighboring
herd before major symptoms are apparent. A partnership among
the Northern Cheyenne Extension Indian Reservation Program,
Chief Dull Knife College , and the U.S. Department of Agriculture
designed and implemented an educational awareness campaign
focused on Trich. management, with a goal of eradication
of the disease. The project conducts an awareness program
through workshops and bulletins and provides hands-on assistance
with bull and cow testing. For this disease to be eradicated
within two years, 100% of the Reservation's cattle herds
must participate. Participation mandates pregnancy testing
all cows and selling non-pregnant females, while also Trich.
testing all bulls retained for breeding. In 2004, 36 producers
worked with the extension agent and area veterinarians to
schedule and pregnancy test 7,500 cows and 190 bulls. Eighty-eight
percent of the cow herd and 45% of the bull battery have
been tested so far.
New Mexico State University
The Jicarilla Apache Nation suffered from seven years of
drought and tribal range conditions declined significantly.
In response to this need, the Two-State Jicarilla Apache
Extension Indian Reservation Program (EIRP) conducted educational
programming on proper grazing management, range monitoring,
and determining stocking rates. The program also has facilitated
federal feed assistance programs on behalf of tribal producers.
The program is working in conjunction with the Jicarilla
Game and Fish Department, Jicarilla Environmental Protection
Office, Jicarilla Water Commission, Jicarilla Tribal Government,
and the Bureau of Indian Affairs Natural Resources Office
to review the effectiveness of the tribal range code. The
determination was made that this code needs to be rewritten
to provide clearer guidance to the community. The EIRP agent
continues to serve on a committee to help get this code rewritten.
Results of these efforts include tribal producers' reducing
their stocking rates earlier than neighboring areas, enabling
them to preserve a portion of their herds. This resulted
in producers' taking advantage of higher prices in the cattle
market. Accomplishing this, while also improving range conditions,
has proven to be beneficial to the tribal herds and wildlife
as well.
The Graduate School of the U.S. Department of Agriculture
recently concluded a Certified Public Managers (CPM) class
on the Zuni Pueblo, emphasizing community leadership and
mentorship. Several members of the class also serve on the
Zuni Extension Indian Reservation Program (EIRP) Advisory
Committee. In response to a class assignment to develop a
project that would affect the larger community, the CPM students
worked with Zuni EIRP to reestablish cultural connections
with Native American youth, facilitate 4-H to become the
leader in coordinating the many youth-serving organizations
on the Zuni Pueblo, and focus on the community's agriculture
heritage. Realizing that resources are vital to achievement
of these goals, class members became involved in local volunteer
leader recruitment, 4-H visibility in Zuni public schools,
and tribal government allocation of agricultural lands. Through
a three-day focused session, they created an educational
opportunity for the community to explore ways to regain agricultural
productivity through water development. They also participated
in the New Mexico Tribal Task force to address resource needs
before the state and federal legislatures. In short, Zuni
youth and agricultural producers, while possibly never again
to be a majority in the community, are so “visible,
important and instrumental” that they have been the
focus of a leadership and mentorship project. These grassroots
priorities originated in the process of the Zuni EIRP advisory
committee and continued through the actions of the CPM participants.
North Dakota State University
Fort Berthold 4-H programs are seeing a resurgence in active
youth participation. By partnering resources and expertise
from Fort Berthold Extension Indian Reservation Program and
Mountrail County Extension offices, an after-school technology
team offers hands-on technology learning experiences for
fourth and fifth graders. This effort is of high interest
to the youth and enables them to use technology in a practical,
applicable manner. This effort also has increased awareness
of 4-H opportunities and activities among school administration
and parents.
Oregon State University
The Warm Springs Indian Reservation lies in the heart of
central Oregon . Rangeland is a major component of the Reservation,
and tribal members depend on it for grazing livestock, digging
roots, and for wildlife management. In the last 50 to 60
years, western juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) has spread
because of a lack of natural fires on the range. Although
it is a culturally significant plant, its over-dominance
of the range has caused an imbalance in wildlife diversity
and forage for livestock, an increase in fire severity, and
an increase in soil erosion. The Extension Indian Reservation
Program (EIRP) at Warm Springs addresses this problem by
bringing together the tribal mill staff, tribal livestock
producers, tribal fire management personnel, and members
of the Tribal Range and Agriculture Department to address
juniper removal on rangelands. Juniper removal began in June
2005 on 880 acres, to be followed by additional key areas
in subsequent years. The project will provide field employment
for tribal members who will be cross trained in fire fighting.
The resulting juniper product will be stacked for use by
tribal members and used in the Reservation's cogeneration
facility at the lumber mill. Baseline data and post treatment
data will be collected by the EIRP agent to measure the success
of the treatment on rangeland health.
South Dakota State University
How much is that doggie on the prairie? “Too darn
much” is the general consensus among ranchers on the
Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota. The Pine Ridge Extension
Indian Reservation Program (EIRP) has been working with the
Oglala Sioux Tribe, the Oglala Lakota College Extension Program,
and other collaborators in dealing with the issue of rangeland
and prairie dog management. About 100 producers and representatives
from the Oglala Sioux Tribe, as well as federal and state
agencies, participated in the annual EIRP Farm and Ranch
Day and a follow-up Prairie Dog workshop. Presenters discussed
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) mapping of prairie dog towns,
current state and federal regulations, prairie dog control
techniques and regulations, and options for restoration of
the range after prairie dog control. EIRP helped organize
a Prairie Dog Task Force with tribal and federal stakeholders
to develop a natural resources management plan for trust
land and parks land utilized by the Tribe's elk and bison
herds. Groups including the Tribe's Land Committee and Lakota
Stockgrowers are working with EIRP to initiate a producer
education program on range management and a research project
on rangeland restoration. The Tribe's Parks and Recreation
department has begun a preliminary land assessment to set
up the management plan, and an additional 40 producers have
received Pesticide Applicator certifications through EIRP,
in cooperation with the state.
Youth on the Rosebud Reservation face a variety of challenges:
drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, school dropouts,
teen pregnancy, diabetes, and gangs. Educators on the Reservation
often have a hard time relating to the youth and getting
students to make a connection between their culture and their
education. The South Dakota Character Counts: We Are All
Relatives curriculum uses Lakota culture and beliefs to help
students realize their potential and their ability to effect
change in their own lives. Getting students to be more accountable
for their decisions and responsible for their own character
building will help to decrease the threats and minimize the
ease with which youth fall prey to making detrimental choices.
University of Alaska
The communities of the Tanana Chiefs Conference, a tribal
consortium of the 42 villages of interior Alaska, are served
by EIRP and include both traditional agricultural productions
and subsistence agriculture, defined in the Alaska National
Interest Lands Conservation Act as those “customary
and traditional uses of fish and wildlife and other renewable
resources for food, clothing, shelter, and handicrafts.” Gardening
and small-scale agricultural classes are provided in the
native villages of Bethel, Kotzebue, Nome, Dillingham, and
Noatak. Practical gardening experiences can provide fresh,
nutritious food in rural and urban locations. Noatak is a
rural village above the Arctic Circle, on the edge of the
tree line. Fishing and berry picking are important traditional
sources of food. In 2004, vegetable gardens contributed a
bountiful harvest. With the help of University of Alaska
- Fairbanks Extension agents, a grant was received to provide
seed money for garden supplies and formal introductory science
education on gardening by university faculty. Native students
and teachers visited the Matanuska Valley for ideas for future
gardens, such as using plastic row covers for warmer microclimates.
Another village in southwestern Alaska obtained Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Extension grant funds to build moose
fences around the community garden, resulting in increased
vegetable production and the availability of fresh, nutritious
food in this rural location. Extension also provided training
classes on canning and drying of traditional fish, wildlife,
and berry products in the communities of Tok, Nome, and Bethel,
thereby increasing food safety in the storage of traditional
foods and addressing the need to reduce botulism associated
with traditional Alaska Native foods.
University of Arizona
Community building is the process of developing the capacity
of local people to examine resources, identify a community
vision, and take culturally sensitive action to create meaningful
change. Extension's role is to provide asset-based training
and services for community-based organizations that have
limited resources to pay for the technical services that
can increase internal capacities. This support allows communities
such as those on the Hopi Reservation to focus on economic
and cultural survival. The Extension Indian Reservation Program
has been involved with the Innovation Center for Community
and Youth Development since 1999. Extension's technical assistance
and mentoring support with the Hopi eventually grew into
the development of a Hopi-run nonprofit organization known
as Hopi Pu'tavi Project, Inc. (Pu'tavi means one path.) The
Hopi began this as a capacity-building effort for a single
village, and it has now grown to include 13 villages. As
one of only two nonprofit organizations on the Reservation,
Pu'tavi promotes learning, training, and business opportunities
for the Hopi people on the Reservation, youth in particular.
With the assistance of the Extension Indian Reservation
Program, the Hualapai Tribe re-established photo and trend
monitoring plots across its rangeland and now uses this information
to make management decisions about drought, livestock, and
wildlife. Training for livestock producers involves a mobile
computer lab that is used to introduce record keeping technology
to producers. Few participants said they had used computers
for livestock record keeping before the training. After in-depth
livestock record-keeping training was offered, most of the
participants who completed training evaluations said they
are interested in using computers for their records and feel
more comfortable using the technology. Of the four livestock
associations on the Reservation, one association made changes
to improve record keeping, and two associations implemented
record keeping systems for the first time. Beef Quality Assurance
education is also offered to producers. Eighty-five percent
of those evaluating the program reported improvements in
giving cattle injections properly and handling cattle without
causing excess stress and damage to the meat. All producers
who responded said they learned how to keep better animal
health records. This program has led to positive behavioral
changes among livestock producers and increased awareness
of issues that have an impact on sustainable livestock production.
The San Carlos Cattle Associations and R-100 Tribal Ranch
provide a significant economic boon to the San Carlos Apache
Reservation by providing jobs and funds for tribal programs
as well as income for individual cattle owners. To protect
the cattle herds on the reservation, an emergency response
plan for incidences of foreign animal disease was developed
by the San Carlos Livestock Emergency Task Force formed to
address homeland security and animal identification issues.
The San Carlos Apache Extension Indian Reservation Program
agent served as a member of the task force along with San
Carlos Cattle Board, R-100 Ranch, Environmental Protection
Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, San Carlos Planning, Wildlife
Ranger, and Environmental Health personnel. The foreign animal
disease seminar that Tribal Council members, ranch personnel,
and cattle board members attended and the emergency response
livestock disease plan that was drafted by the task force
for the San Carlos Apache Reservation came at a time when
federal and state organizations are emphasizing homeland
security. Ranch personnel can now identify diseases and implement
the emergency response plan, which was approved by Tribal
Council in 2004.
The R-100 Tribal Cattle ranch, on the San Carlos Apache
Reservation, has had a long history of working with the University
of Arizona on research and education projects, from the 1930s
through the mid 1990s. This relationship, however, had languished
because of faculty retirements and change of R-100 ranch
management. Additionally, much of the R-100 Tribal Ranch
cattle herd was sold to pay tribal debts in 2002-2003. Tribal
administrators initially developed a restocking plan for
the R-100 Ranch which was not approved by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA), because the budget and implementation plan
were not well designed. University of Arizona Extension specialists,
working with the San Carlos Apache Extension Indian Reservation
Program agent, developed a new restocking and budget plan
for R-100 tribal ranch. It was submitted to the BIA once
again for approval. Working with the R-100 ranch, the extension
agent, and local BIA personnel, these specialists developed
a restocking budget to implement the plan, formulated a cross
breeding plan for R-100 cattle, communicated with the Hereford
Association on cattle breeding records, and traced old records.
R-100 cattle have traditionally been purebred Hereford cattle,
but ranch management in 1999-2003 had not kept registration
records on R-100 cattle. Eighty percent of purebred Hereford
cattle on the R-100 ranch not previously registered are now
registered. This improves the ability to sell calves as purebred
stock and will help to restore the reputation of the R-100
herd, which had diminished because of lack of purebred registration
and recent destocking of the herd. The new restocking plan
was approved by the BIA and the ranch began to purchase cattle
to restock the herd with $2 million of tribal water rights
money.
University of Florida
Many Native American groups face growing youth-at-risk components
in their cultural communities. The Seminole Tribe 4-H and
Extension Indian Reservation Program are responding with
monthly education programs and activities that address needs
such as legal problem solving and critical money management.
Programs involve tribal and non-tribal leaders and recognized
experts. Attendance at these programs has been considerable,
with from 5% to 7% of tribal youth participating. Informal
discussion among tribal members indicates, at the least,
positive “changes in perception and behavior” of
tribal youth and guardians. For example, informal interviews
with tribal youth and adult members attending a program titled “Truth
or Consequences: What Happens If?” suggested that youth
and guardians now see local law enforcement as a friendly
face, that is, someone to go to before trouble starts instead
of running away from after a problem arises. Parents and
elder guardians acknowledge having a better understanding
of tribal community resources at their disposal. Both youth
and adults described learning about responsibilities and
rights of driving as described by Florida law. Reservation
legal statistics will be compared yearly to evaluate whether
a relationship exists between attending such programs and
long-term behavioral changes.
University of Idaho
The Fort Hall Extension Indian Reservation Program (EIRP)
works with the Fort Hall Reservation cattle associations,
the Tribal Fisheries and Wildlife Department, the Land Use
and other Tribal departments, and individuals to coordinate
range utilization, enhance native plant species management,
improve beef cattle management and improve riparian habitat
management. The EIRP beef management program at the Fort
Hall Reservation has resulted in several ranchers changing
their beef management practices to meet quality guidelines.
Four tribal members became certified in the Idaho Beef Quality
Assurance Program. Two local ranchers modified their bull
selection methods to meet criteria developed by local grazing
associations and the Extension office. Permanent photo points
were established on range units which enabled permittees
to adequately assess range utilization levels on their particular
allotments, resulting in improved grass use. The range surveys
have demonstrated that the Reservation’s rangelands
are in good, stable or improving condition. This has assisted
the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Tribe in adjusting stocking
rates and time management of grazing.
University of Nevada
Bovine Spongiform Encephalothapy (BSE) was discovered in
the United States in 2004, stopping exports of U.S. meats.
Foodborne diseases, such as E-coli, sicken thousands of American
consumers annually. Thus, Beef Quality Assurance has become
a national initiative of top priority to the National Cattlemen's
Beef Association, the Nevada Cattlemen's Association, and
Cooperative Extension systems throughout the nation. Through
Nevada 's Extension Indian Reservation Program, Beef Quality
Assurance programs are taught to Nevada 's Native American
producers. In 2004, 40 producers were certified at level
1 BQA. By becoming BQA-certified, individuals sign an affidavit
that they will implement and follow the guidelines taught
in the BQA educational program. The Western Video and the
Superior Livestock auctions, the two auctions that sell more
than 80% of Nevada cattle, list cattle as Nevada BQA-certified
on consignments originating from BQA-certified ranches. Producers
state that a better demand is realized for cattle processed
under BQA guidelines. This program has an impact on the way
cattle are processed and marketed in Nevada.
University of Wyoming
Discipline is a declining attribute in many young people
today. Archery, a sport that requires discipline of its participants,
had been on the decline at the Wind River Reservation, and
funds were not available to acquire or maintain equipment.
The sport requires concentration and builds eye/hand coordination.
In addition, it is fun for young people of all ages; success
is almost immediate because everyone can hit the target.
Through a partnership with the Wyoming Department of Game
and Fish, the Wind River Reservation Extension Indian Reservation
Program agent met the requirements necessary to obtain archery
equipment for the youth on the Reservation. This involved
passing a written test and committing to introducing archery
in the schools. With insurance issues resolved with the schools,
tribal youth are now participating in 4-H archery. The behavior
of the young people changes dramatically when they enter
the archery range. They become students of discipline. They
quickly learn safety rules and prompt each other on the rules.
They ask questions of “why” and “how”,
a sign that their skills of observation and concentration
have increased and eye/hand coordination is being mastered.
It is a sport in which boys and girls can participate equally.
Washington State University
Many of lands on the Colville Reservation have been lost
to invasive noxious weeds. The weeds have taken over fields
and rangelands and are creating a less desirable habitat
for wildlife and livestock. Furthermore, surrounding croplands
are being infested. To address this problem, the Quad County
and Colville Bioagent Project was established as a collaborative
effort involving the Colville Tribes, the U.S. Forest Service,
Weed Boards and Washington State University (WSU) Extension
offices in northeast Washington . Services provided by the
WSU Extension Indian Reservation Program on the Colville
Reservation and WSU-Ferry County Extension include collection
of bioagents, release of insects, release site characteristic
gathering, monitoring and mapping of release sites, and educational
presentations and posters on weed identification and control
options. The Bioagent Project has dramatically decreased
the density of Diffuse Knapweed found on the Colville Reservation
and has slowed the spread of Dalmatian Toadflax, two weeds
of greatest threat to the livestock industry. The Reservation
is seeing tremendous effects on bringing back native grasses
and improving watersheds and wildlife and livestock forage
over thousands of acres. It also has resulted in greatly
reducing the need for long-term residual herbicides in selected
areas. In addition, funding for this project has provided
training and employment for Colville tribal members.
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