Rising consumer costs and cuts to subsidized food programs are increasing the pressure on organizations that deliver food assistance. Native American food pantries are trying to forge new partnerships and develop additional tribal resources — like farms and meat processors — to meet the demand, all while reducing the stigma for those seeking help putting food on their tables. We’ll hear about how Native organization in Denver is doing to meet increasing demand.

Twelve years since a handful of tribes signed a cross-border agreement to restore bison, the signatories to the Buffalo Treaty are assessing their progress in that time. Over the decades, Native American operations have helped boost bison populations from near extinction to more than 25,000. The tribes just gathered in South Dakota to share knowledge about land acquisition, animal processing, and raising cultural awareness as a way to create a sustainable future for bison.

A new flour mill on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation will be both an tribal economic boost and a processor for local farmers. We’ll hear about what is in store for the new 27,000-square-foot facility.

GUESTS

Monica Rattling Hawk (Oglala Lakota), tribal liaison for the World Wildlife Fund and a representative of the Oglala Sioux Tribe

Dawn Sherman (Lakota, Shawnee, and Delaware), executive director of the Tanka Fund

Lisa Ansell Frazier (Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe), founder and director of Buffalo Youth Nation Project

Susan Bower, project manager for Cairnspring Mills and business development manager for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation’s Department of Economic and Community Development